As his body continues to mature, he is becoming more and more bigger down low. He already has a bigger base than guys like Tyrone Hill and Dale Davis. He's in the Michael Cage/Georgetown Mike Sweetney category now.
Watching him run up the court today, I know a center when I see one. Just sucks that he is not bigger. He would be a top center prospect already if he had the size. If you put his heart and will in these guys that are 7'0 stiffs with no desire, you'd have one of the better centers in the league.
The crux to Tristan is, that he is NOT a game changing center at his size, just a scrappy undersized guy who will battle centers who are not engaged. He doesnt have the length needed to really be a good positional defender at the rim. Omer Asik can play defense the way Tristan does and he can truly impact a game with his size/length. Tristan cant play like that and be the same type of impact player. Some guys can be very good defenders or offensive players even though they are undersized for the center spot. Chuck Wagon always jumps out to me for his years in Houston where Adelman used him like Nick Collison as the first big off the bench. Nick Collison is another guy. Played that position in Kansas and developed as a center and then just never got tall enough to be that, though he has trimmed down and really perfected being a positional defender of back to the basket 4's as a pro. Kris Humphries wrecked havoc in his year up at Minnesota playing center at 6'9. As a PF in this league, he simply doesnt have the game to be a real impact player but if you get him minutes and just let him produce on the boards and next to a cupcake like Brook used to be, you can see Humphries put up numbers like Tristan can provide for you. Its all about being given the opportunity to play big minutes.
That is why I said dont get caught up on his stat line. Reggie Evans, Kris Humphries, Nick Collison, Danny Fortson, Chuck Hayes... you give these guys minutes as they entered their prime as undersized centers and put softer bigs who space the floor next to them, and they all could/did produced like Tristan can/has. Reggie Evans was one of the best offensive rebounders I ever saw play in college, at 6'8... but a large part of that was him playing center with a non traditional big man next to him spacing the floor. Same for Kurt Thomas at TCU. Didnt he lead the country in rebounding a few times? His body developed JUST like Tristan's body is, and his base widened the longer he was in the league. He had some "near" all star years up in New York where the ball just gravitated to his hands. Probably the exact same size as Tristan in his prime.
In my quest to make this team more Mike Brown proof, the next area to be concentrated on, is going to be improving the power forward spot. Though Im not sure we can truly Mike Brown proof a roster, as I am really having a hard time watching Brown try to play Luol like he is LeBron on high pick and rolls with the ball in his hands and force Dion Waiters into the same role he played starting next to Kyrie. Totally negating the purpose for having Dion off the floor with the starters in the first place. If he is going to have Dion off the ball to Jack, then you might as well start him just the same. (God this coach is bad)
But back to Tristan... he's a center. And as he matures on the court and with his body, that will continue to be evident. Antonio Davis matured into a pretty good 6'9 center as his body developed. But that was a different NBA.
As the first big off the bench, I think Tristan could be one of the most valuable reserve bigs in the league. Capable of facing up and going around slower centers adn capable of holding ground and not being moved by about 75% of bigs, save the true centers and guys who are so long they can just shot over the top of him.