Tristan Thompson

[Surge]

Amare was hitting some tough shots last night, I don't understand how that caps TT as a 4th or 5th big on a contender. You need to adjust your standards, TT is at worst the 2nd or 3rd best big on most contenders right now.

San Antonio- 2nd best behind Tim Duncan
Houston- 3rd best behind Dwight Howard, Omer Asik
Los Angeles- 3rd best behind Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan
Golden State- 3rd best behind David Lee, Andrew Bogut
Oklahoma City- 2nd best behind Serge Ibaka
Portland- 2nd best behind LaMarcus Aldridge
Miami- 2nd best behind Chris Bosh
Indianapolis- 3rd best behind Roy Hibbert, David West

Problem is, we are trying to make a move with him as a starter. What is his distinguishing trait? He does nothing above average.

My issues with this team start in more problematic areas such as coaching, but TT is not the future of this team.

 

[EdMonix11]

Amare was hitting some tough shots last night, I don't understand how that caps TT as a 4th or 5th big on a contender. You need to adjust your standards, TT is at worst the 2nd or 3rd best big on most contenders right now.

San Antonio- 2nd best behind Tim Duncan
Houston- 3rd best behind Dwight Howard, Omer Asik
Los Angeles- 3rd best behind Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan
Golden State- 3rd best behind David Lee, Andrew Bogut
Oklahoma City- 2nd best behind Serge Ibaka
Portland- 2nd best behind LaMarcus Aldridge
Miami- 2nd best behind Chris Bosh
Indianapolis- 3rd best behind Roy Hibbert, David West

You don't need 20 point scorers at every position to win in the NBA. You need players that can impact games without the ball in their hands. He's still only 22 years old, he's not done improving as a player. He had a bad first half of basketball last night, he then responded by outproducing Amare for the rest of the game.

You need to slow down here, fella.

You emphasize the fact that you need players that can impact games without the ball in their hands to pump up Tristan, yet you assume the players you omit from your list don't do anything to impact games because they don't score, just so you can try to prove that TT is better. TT isn't close to being the 2nd best big on San Antonio, as you say: he's not better than Duncan, Splitter, or Diaw, or even Bonner for the role they have him in. For TT's current role in Cleveland, he is not good enough to play that same role on a contender......

 

[CosmoKramer]

Everyone one of those bigs are either very good or dominant defensively or offensively on contenders. How can we take the next step with a STARTING PF who is neither? You don't see title contenders jockeying for hustle front line players to fill up a starting spot.

Which is why I said they were better than TT... The majority of those players are also much older than TT, we're still talking about a young developing player here. The list of 22-year-old power forwards giving you 12-10 a night with good defense is much smaller than some people want to think.

I get that you aren't saying we should, but there is not a chance in hell I want to acquire pieces to accommodate Tristan. Trade him for a draft pick this year. A top 20 pick.

This would be selling low on a player we've been developing for years. He still has a full year left on his rookie contract, we aren't going to be pressed to move him unless he wants a bigger contract than Derrick Favors got (4 years-49 million).

 

[CosmoKramer]

You need to slow down here, fella.

You emphasize the fact that you need players that can impact games without the ball in their hands to pump up Tristan, yet you assume the players you omit from your list don't do anything to impact games because they don't score, just so you can try to prove that TT is better. TT isn't close to being the 2nd best big on San Antonio, as you say: he's not better than Duncan, Splitter, or Diaw, or even Bonner for the role they have him in. For TT's current role in Cleveland, he is not good enough to play that same role on a contender......

I'll take TT over Splitter and Diaw all day.

Diaw was terrible in Charlotte, those were some of his prime years and he never shot over 50% from the field. He's a defensive liability, which is why he fits well playing next to Tim Duncan. Splitter has regressed this year, I don't know if he's going to prove worth the 9 million a year extension he got.

Problem is, we are trying to make a move with him as a starter. What is his distinguishing trait? He does nothing above average.

My issues with this team start in more problematic areas such as coaching, but TT is not the future of this team.

He's easily an above-average rebounder, he's a great rebounder. You do know he has the 4th most offensive rebounds in the entire NBA this year?

 

[Cashius X]

For the record, if we could trade TT for a top 20 pick in this draft I'd do that in a heartbeat. Steal.

 

[Soar]

Tristan Thompson is a robot. Does some solid things consistently but lacks natural skills(especially on offense) to make him great.

 

[Cashius X]

I'll take TT over Splitter and Diaw all day.

Diaw was terrible in Charlotte, those were some of his prime years and he never shot over 50% from the field. He's a defensive liability, which is why he fits well playing next to Tim Duncan. Splitter has regressed this year, I don't know if he's going to prove worth the 9 million a year extension he got.

Diaw didn't try in Charlotte. I know it sounds like a cop out but it's the truth. He let himself get overweight and he literally just stopped shooting open jumpers. As far as Splitter, I don't think he's really regressed. I think his role has just been reduced as Pop has started playing more small ball with Duncan and Diaw at the 5.

 

[Fuggles]

This would be selling low on a player we've been developing for years. He still has a full year left on his rookie contract, we aren't going to be pressed to move him unless he wants a bigger contract than Derrick Favors got (4 years-49 million).

We would be very pressed to move him if he wants Derrick Favors money,

Right now the most I would offer him is 4/32. I can't think of a team that would offer more than that for him.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Diaw didn't try in Charlotte. I know it sounds like a cop out but it's the truth. He let himself get overweight and he literally just stopped shooting open jumpers. As far as Splitter, I don't think he's really regressed. I think his role has just been reduced as Pop has started playing more small ball with Duncan and Diaw at the 5.

I don't see why using the excuse Diaw didn't try hard should validate choosing him over TT. Are you telling me you want 31-year-old Boris Diaw over Tristan because he looks better playing next to Duncan? Splitter is 29, you're seeing the best of what he's going to be at the NBA level. TT is the far superior player.

We would be very pressed to move him if he wants Derrick Favors money,

Right now the most I would offer him is 4/32. I can't think of a team that would offer more than that for him.

4/32 would be a discount, I think it's more reasonable to expect 4/40. We've got a full year before it even kicks in as well, we're not hard pressed to trade him now.

 

[Fuggles]

Oh I definitely agree there is no pressure to trade him this off-season. We have at least until next year's trade deadline.

I would like to see him all of next year with a new coach before making any serious judgements.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

We would be very pressed to move him if he wants Derrick Favors money,

Right now the most I would offer him is 4/32. I can't think of a team that would offer more than that for him.

If any team is going to offer him Derrick Favors money, they can have him lol. 4/32 seems reasonable.

 

[CornerThree]

I'll quit if we pay him 12m a season. He benefits from nobody to challenge his playing time, a coach that loves him, and a batch of bricklaying guards. He's a solid rebounder but I feel like he'd be playing less than 20mpg on a team that had its shiz together.

 

[I'mWithDan]

There are currently 14 bigs in the entire NBA averaging 10+ points and 9.5+ rebounds.

Of all the guys on that list, the only ones under 25 are:

TT
Andre Drummond
Demarcus Cousins
Blake Griffin
Anthony Davis

Even if someone wants to say "TT is the worst player on that list" he's still on it.

At 22 years old, only Drummond and Davis are younger.

I don't think he's a world beater but typically PF / C are the two positions where guys can make huge leaps in their early 20's.

Will TT definitely do that? I have no idea but trading him, at this point, seems silly. At 22 the guy is still a complete baby.

His best years are ahead of him and he's shown enough promise to let those play out.

 

[AustinCarr]

Tristan is such an odd case. His youth, attitude, and work ethic make it hard to imagine him not making large strides. That said, he just lacks so many of the basic instincts you need to be a successful pro. He makes Tyrone Hill look like a fluid offensive player. I'd love to keep him, but if he wants 10+ mil a year, trade him and get some sort of return in your investment. The guy simply is not worth ~18% of the cap.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

There are currently 14 bigs in the entire NBA averaging 10+ points and 9.5+ rebounds.

Of all the guys on that list, the only ones under 25 are:

TT
Andre Drummond
Demarcus Cousins
Blake Griffin
Anthony Davis

Even if someone wants to say "TT is the worst player on that list" he's still on it.

At 22 years old, only Drummond and Davis are younger.

I don't think he's a world beater but typically PF / C are the two positions where guys can make huge leaps in their early 20's.

Will TT definitely do that? I have no idea but trading him, at this point, seems silly. At 22 the guy is still a complete baby.

His best years are ahead of him and he's shown enough promise to let those play out.

If you go by that reasoning, JJ Hickson was on that list last year. :chuckles:

Anyways, it's not silly to trade a guy like TT when he's young. His trade value plummets if he has another year or two of this kind of inconsistent play. He can prove his critics wrong no doubt but at this point, what are the odds of that happening? This is his 3rd year starting and he's pretty much produce the same as last year if not worse in some areas. I'll venture to say that made that big jump from his rookie season. The question should be, are there any teams willing to give up valuable assets for TT at this point lol. You can make all the excuses you want for him but I don't think anyone is willing to give up much for a player like him.