Tristan Thompson: Initial Thoughts

[WeinerSoBig]

She's got some serious guns! This gives me hope that TT will be able to knock some players on their asses.

 

[TheISHT]

Where does TT go in a normal draft? Mid 20's?

He goes lottery. Only reason the international flavor made such an impact is because there were less College Studs to choose from. Barnes, Jones, and Sully would have pushed him down to 10 or more depending on team needs and it still would've been a weak draft.

 

[Triumph36]

Tyrus Thomas went 4th overall in 2006. I don't think there's anyway Tristan falls past 8-9 in any draft.

Wouldn't be in T10 next year.

 

[Kouki]

You know what's kinda weird, and makes me think it was a botched plan, is that I think we had Kanter on our board before TT. Because Byron let it slip in that one interview, "after Kanter was taken at 3, we knew who we were taking at 4" or whatever....yet, a big reason why we took him, as I understand it, is because he destroyed Kanter in a workout here in CLE.

Not to stir the pot or anything because I'm sure if they drafted him they are happy to keep him, and I'm kinda excited about the pick, but eh, just throwing that out there.

 

[sam_slam911]

With two of the top five selections in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, which threw the draft its first curve ball, but gave them the two players they had ranked at the top of their board.

They had projected Irving and Thompson as the two prospects with the most potential in this class and fell in love with their engaging personalities after bringing them in for workouts.

They also saw the chemistry between the players. Rather than drafting a foreign prospect like Jonas Valanciunas - which was heavily considered - the team knew that Irving and Thompson were already close friends, could relate with one another and would be able to go through this process side by side.

After Irving was picked, he was ushered into the media room and his press conference dragged on throughout several selections. As the fourth overall pick was announced, Irving was being asked a question, but kept leaning over to the television to see who would be joining him in Cleveland. After seeing Thompson was the selection, Irving smiled and his eyes lit up.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Irving said. "Tristan is a great friend of mine, and just having another fellow freshman being drafted to Cleveland and playing with him, I'm really excited. He's also a young player, and having somebody alongside you that will go through the rookie ups and downs with you, it will make the transition into the NBA that much easier."

While many were surprised to see Thompson selected, the Cavs rely heavily on advanced analytics, which chart how effective a player will be five years down the road. When Thompson's statistics, age and efficiency were put into Cleveland's formula, Thompson actually had a higher rating than Irving. The numbers also ranked Thompson higher than recent big men selected in the top ten such as Greg Monroe and Derrick Favors.

Now, playing with Irving, it'll be even easier for him to reach his full potential.

"I love it," Thompson said. "One of my strengths and attributes is getting up and down the floor so playing with Kyrie, it's going to be exciting. Knowing Kyrie and having a friendship prior to the draft, it's definitely [better] having somebody there to support you and go through what you go through. He's almost like a brother to me, and will have my back and I'll have his. We'll get through this together."

Around this time last year, there was panic in Cleveland due to LeBron James' upcoming free agency. Now, with Irving and Thompson, there is hope that the Cavaliers can turn this team around and once again return to an elite level. The cornerstones are in place and the future in Cleveland looks extremely bright.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=20262

Didn't know how close Irving and Thompson were.

 

[The Oi]

This has been discussed a million times already, but...the guy has no offensive game whatsoever. As the #4 pick he needs to become one of the best defensive PF's in the game if the Cavs are going to come out of this looking good. I think the Tyrus Thomas/JJ Hickson comparisons are pretty dead on.

Hopefully he's smarter and more consistent than Tyrus and has better hands than JJ. If that's the case, I think he could become an above average player.

 

[cdt]

This has been discussed a million times already, but...the guy has no offensive game whatsoever. As the #4 pick he needs to become one of the best defensive PF's in the game if the Cavs are going to come out of this looking good. I think the Tyrus Thomas/JJ Hickson comparisons are pretty dead on.

Hopefully he's smarter and more consistent than Tyrus and has better hands than JJ. If that's the case, I think he could become an above average player.

We're hoping this guy can surpass Tyrus Thomas as a player...

 

[Kouki]

This has been discussed a million times already, but...the guy has no offensive game whatsoever. As the #4 pick he needs to become one of the best defensive PF's in the game if the Cavs are going to come out of this looking good. I think the Tyrus Thomas/JJ Hickson comparisons are pretty dead on.

Hopefully he's smarter and more consistent than Tyrus and has better hands than JJ. If that's the case, I think he could become an above average player.

Yeah, people were freaking out about taking Biyombo in the top ten because he doesn't have an offensive game...but he seems to be TT on steroids right now.

But a big part of it was, I think, getting a player that complements Kyrie so that they can grow together. A guy that is great at playing off the ball, in pick and rolls, grabbing boards, same age, friends, etc. They could really grow together very nicely.

I was never really that high on JV, if you watch him play basketball, he just flat out does not look like a basketball player...maybe due to his age, idk, but I can see him busting pretty badly.

And on the same hand, TT doesn't look all that great either.

But the good thing about TT, besides what I already mentioned, is that he has a good head on his shoulders and he's got a relentless motor.

 

[Kouki]

Tyrus Thomas with a good motor and head is a really great player.

 

[The Process God]

Did anyone see Tristan featured on Sport Science? Talks very highly of his athletic ability.

[video=youtube;YZfyphN7M0c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZfyphN7M0c[/video]

It's interesting that his vertical tested out at 38.5 inches on Sport Science because it tested out only at 35 at the 2011 NBA Combine.

 

[Triumph36]

Yeah, people were freaking out about taking Biyombo in the top ten because he doesn't have an offensive game...but he seems to be TT on steroids right now.

But a big part of it was, I think, getting a player that complements Kyrie so that they can grow together. A guy that is great at playing off the ball, in pick and rolls, grabbing boards, same age, friends, etc. They could really grow together very nicely.

I was never really that high on JV, if you watch him play basketball, he just flat out does not look like a basketball player...maybe due to his age, idk, but I can see him busting pretty badly.

And on the same hand, TT doesn't look all that great either.

But the good thing about TT, besides what I already mentioned, is that he has a good head on his shoulders and he's got a relentless motor.

FWIW, Jonas is a very good pick and roll player, has been praised for his motor and work ethic, and is actually closer to Kyrie in age (TT is old for his class). His rebounding is actually quite good too given the circumstances - his body is still catching up to his height.

I don't get the friend thing and frankly hope it had little to no influence on the decision. I've said character is important and still believe that is the case. But as far as friendships having an impact - why? So the player is less inclined to leave? That's silly. I don't want to get a team full of butt buddies, I want a team that is in the best position to win. And if the latter is the case, the team won't need to worry about retaining its players.

Tyrus Thomas with a good motor and head is a really great player.

Not sure I agree with this. A good motor and head wouldn't make TT more than a spot up jump shooter and finisher at the rim on offense.

Would it be a bad player? No. But wouldn't call him great either.

 

[cavfanintexas]

Personal attacks are lame.

How bout those draft picks?

? which one started the Personal attacks.

 

[MDLT]

Hmmm....to say TT has no offensive game whatsoever is not accurate. He doesn't have any type of outside game, but he finishes around the rim due in part to his athleticism. He's not just dunking the ball, either.

 

[Adam]

It's interesting that his vertical tested out at 38.5 inches on Sport Science because it tested out only at 35 at the 2011 NBA Combine.

must be the shoes.

I've just watched back the arizona game from the NCAA tournament and noticed a few things. Having never seen him play i wanted to see how he did on both sides of the ball. I'm generally an optomist so my opinion might be more positive than another who saw the same game.
I watched him take foul shots, hes a left so naturally he has the angled stance ( which compensates for all the passes people make to your right hand) He seemed like he has a shot which will only need a bit of adjustment to get an improvement, a bit of work on arc and shot line and i would expect him to be in the 70% area from the line.

He has great postposition and was really rushing his moves inside, probably due to the double teams zona were sending at him.

Defensively has was exceptionally quick off the ground and has great position, he came out to guard the perimeter well and always went up straight to challenge shots.

Overall i think hes the kind of player that will impact games, but not for a season or so, good if you want i nice lotto pick next year. My ambition for him would be to develop into a horace grant type player eventually, thats a role that a champioship team can really use.

 

[cavfanintexas]

I've never understood how making fun of someone for posting a lot on a message board by posting on a message board makes any damn sense.

I'll take the other side, make a million post in every post does not made any damn sense