“Imagine a team with LeBron James and him” Stephen A. Smith believes Lakers should have drafted Jayson Tatum instead of Lonzo Ball 

“Imagine a team with LeBron James and him” Stephen A. Smith believes Lakers should have drafted Jayson Tatum instead of Lonzo Ball 

LeBron James and Jayson Tatum (Via Open Source/X)

In 2017, a season before LeBron James decided to make his way into the Los Angeles Lakers, the purple and gold franchise had the chance of acquiring/drafting the young and talented Jayson Tatum with their initial pick. But they went onto opt for Lonzo Ball. Stephen A. Smith urged the mistake made by the LA Lakers and gave a glance of what a team Jayson Tatum and LeBron James could have been. 

LeBron James
LeBron James

To think about it both Tatum and LeBron are explosive players who can prove their limits on either ends of the court. If it was for the former star, LeBron surely would have not needed any other supporting player to make consecutive championship runs. On the same note, Stephen A. Smith pored light on it. 

Stephen A. Smith on Jayson Tatum and LeBron James pairing 

Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. Smith

On ESPN’s First Take, NBA Analyst Stephen A. Smith spoke about the pairing of Tatum with LeBron James that could have been. Smith said, “Can we fantasize for a moment here? Could you imagine if LeBron James had joined a Lakers squad with Jayson Tatum? Could you imagine? I mean, I promise you this: We wouldn’t be talking about Lakers being out of the playoffs. We wouldn’t be talking about them struggling to make a play-in game. I promise you that.” 

FS Video
YouTube video

Stephen A. Smith said the decision to go after Ball instead of Tatum by Magic Johnson is proving to be a costly one for the Los Angeles Lakers organization. Smith added, “Even though Lonzo Ball is hurt, when he was playing, he was the No. 2 2 overall pick by Earvin Magic Johnson’ Los Angeles Lakers. They needed a point guard, they needed somebody that was a local product and they got this brother from Chino Hills instead of Jayson Tatum. 

Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum

He concluded by stating, “They had the No. 1 and No. 2 pick in those drafts, and they passed Jayson Tatum for Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball. We need to remember that when we talking about Jayson Tatum, because Jayson Tatum is a star. Jayson Tatum has superstar written all over him. This is a special, special brother.” 

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