Schoening: Thomas Looking Forward To Season

[duncan228]

Thomas Looking Forward to Season (http://www.nba.com/spurs/timeout/20secondto.html)
by Bill Schoening

It was nearly two decades ago when a tall, lanky kid from Hillcrest High School in Dallas accepted a basketball scholarship to play at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. At the time, Kurt Thomas had no idea he would ever make it to the NBA, let alone enjoy a career that has him embarking on his 14th campaign in the league.

"I was 170 pounds and a lot of colleges didn't think I was ready, but Coach Moe Iba took me and showed me how to play defense, and then coach Billy Tubbs came in and I learned offense from him, and I really blossomed in his offense", says Thomas.

Did he ever.

Thomas led the nation in scoring and rebounding his senior season, one of only three players to ever accomplish the feat. He was the 10th pick overall by the Miami Heat in the 1995 draft, and has since spent time with the Heat, Mavericks, Knicks, Suns, Sonics and Spurs.

He is looking forward to his first full season in silver and black. "Coming in midway through last season and picking up this sytem was really tough for me. A lot of people might not realize how difficult that is", says the 6'9 veteran, who is hopeful that the Spurs can make a return to the NBA finals. "We feel we have a solid team. We made it to the western conference finals last year. We hope to go a step further this year. We definitely have a tough challenge without Manu early, but if we share the ball, play as a team, and play solid defense, we should be okay."

Thomas is expected to share center duties once again this season with Fabricio Oberto.

[xtremesteven33]

As tough defensively Thomas is, there is no way he could even contain Bynum, Oden, Shaq, Yao or any other 7 + footer from dominating the paint.

we need a bigger body....

DEKE!!!

[Manufan909]

I think he did a great job battling Shaq in the paint in the playoffs.

[xtremesteven33]

I think he did a great job battling Shaq in the paint in the playoffs.



yea but not as much against shaq though...younger bigger guys like Oden,Bynum,Aldridge,Yao,Gasol

[1Parker1]

^I think he'd do a better job against those guys than Oberto, Nazr, Rasho, or Elson ever could/did. Appreciate that the Spurs have him at least as a backup.

[xtremesteven33]

^I think he'd do a better job against those guys than Oberto, Nazr, Rasho, or Elson ever could/did. Appreciate that the Spurs have him at least as a backup.



I do, its just the West has gotten a whole lot tougher as far as the inside goes. especially with the playoff teams. Thomas is a smart tough defender but not a good shotblocker. Tim needs help with that.

[hater]

As tough defensively Thomas is, there is no way he could even contain Bynum, Oden, Shaq, Yao or any other 7 + footer from dominating the paint.

we need a bigger body....

DEKE!!!

Bynum, coming from injury

Oden, unproven rookie

Shaq, old

Yao, not really a "force" in the paint

I think Thomas could do decently vs. any of those guys

[mrspurs]

As tough defensively Thomas is, there is no way he could even contain Bynum, Oden, Shaq, Yao or any other 7 + footer from dominating the paint.

we need a bigger body....

DEKE!!!

Agreed, once again Timmy is left out to hang all by himself. Only this time with someone even shorter then before. Bad move by the FO not addressing this problem before it gets out of hand. How many easy layups and Alley-Oops is it gonna take before the FO says...(thats enough already)........

[mrspurs]

I think he did a great job battling Shaq in the paint in the playoffs.

He was brought in for that exact problem. Kurt knew the suns system and imo thats why he was brought in for to help stop Phoenix. He didnt do much after that and he didnt do much while learning the system before the PO's began. Now he's older and not faster. And them younger taller guys he will be asked to guard and gonna have a field day. I hate typing that but thats how I see it.

[mrspurs]

^I think he'd do a better job against those guys than Oberto, Nazr, Rasho, or Elson ever could/did. Appreciate that the Spurs have him at least as a backup.

No I dont agree. Kurt never has been a proven back up on a Championship Team. Until Kurt goes and gets one those guys proved their worth. Someone in the FO thinks Timmy is good enough to guard 2 bigs at one time. Thats all it is....:wow

[FromWayDowntown]

Yeah, well agile bigs who defend and rebound well at the NBA level just grow on trees -- the Spurs really should have just been able to bring in 2 or 3 of those guys to camp and just decide amongst those players.

Thinking that Dikembe Mutombo, who is substantially older than Thomas and is (at this point) basically a one-trick pony who blocks one shot every night, would be a better option strikes me as a poor evaluation; but to each his own, I guess.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I think Thomas was a quality signing, and really about the best available option the Spurs had for a big. I think he'll prove that this year with a better understanding of the Spurs' system. He really didn't have a great post season by his own standards last year, yet he still looked better than our other bigs did out there, save Duncan of course.

If he can be in better position, continue to rebound, and actually hit that 12 footer that he's normally so good at, he should prove to be a valuable part of the rotation.

I'm a KT fan, and I support this message. :tu

[galvatron3000]

Name the big man the Spurs should get and can obtain via, trade, free agency or of the streets and I bet the go for it. Just drop some names!!

[xtremesteven33]

Yeah, well agile bigs who defend and rebound well at the NBA level just grow on trees -- the Spurs really should have just been able to bring in 2 or 3 of those guys to camp and just decide amongst those players.

Thinking that Dikembe Mutombo, who is substantially older than Thomas and is (at this point) basically a one-trick pony who blocks one shot every night, would be a better option strikes me as a poor evaluation; but to each his own, I guess.



Dude, any Rocket fan will tell you that Deke was thier best interior defender even just las year!!! the guy can still play D. And he really didnt have any help either. Imagine him and Timmy in the paint. Two great defenders. He is unsigned by the way.

[FromWayDowntown]

Dude, any Rocket fan will tell you that Deke was thier best interior defender even just las year!!! the guy can still play D. And he really didnt have any help either. Imagine him and Timmy in the paint. Two great defenders. He is unsigned by the way.

That Mutombo was the best interior defender for the Rockets last year is not the same as saying that he's an elite interior defender who's capable of defending the bigs that have been mentioned in this thread. I've seen plenty of Mutombo over the last few years and I'm quite sure that I'd rather take my chances with Kurt Thomas. But, again, that might just be me.

[FromWayDowntown]

I think Thomas was a quality signing, and really about the best available option the Spurs had for a big. I think he'll prove that this year with a better understanding of the Spurs' system. He really didn't have a great post season by his own standards last year, yet he still looked better than our other bigs did out there, save Duncan of course.

If he can be in better position, continue to rebound, and actually hit that 12 footer that he's normally so good at, he should prove to be a valuable part of the rotation.

I'm a KT fan, and I support this message. :tu

I will be interested to see if Thomas can do so many of the little things that he's usually done well now that he's been fully immersed in Pop's systems and versed in Pop's terminology. I think familiarity will bring improvement. And I agree that if he hits that 12-footer, he becomes a major asset for the Spurs on the offensive end.

At the very least, Kurbrico Obemas is probably a much better player than Franbricio Elberto was.

[HarlemHeat37]

our eggs are in the Mahinmi basket here..

I'm a KT fan, he'd easily be one of the better backup big men in the NBA..

[FromWayDowntown]

Actually, I think the Spurs' eggs for 2008-09 are in the Thomas/Oberto basket; if they get anything from Mahinmi, it's a big bonus.

[xtremesteven33]

Im a huge KT fan also, but i dont see him really helping out Duncan to tell you the truth. I would really like a bigger taller defender if at all possible. Deke would be ideal in my opinion. Hes great at weakside defense, hes smart and he can do post defense with the best of them. Imagine the Center position being started with Oberto and Thomas subing for Duncan while Deke comes in for about 20 minutes a game for Oberto.

I honestly think it would work out. But its just me

[SenorSpur]

Agreed, once again Timmy is left out to hang all by himself. Only this time with someone even shorter then before. Bad move by the FO not addressing this problem before it gets out of hand. How many easy layups and Alley-Oops is it gonna take before the FO says...(thats enough already)........

Agree wholeheartedly.

The FO did Tim a royal disservice on this one. That point will be made clear soon enough.

[SenorSpur]

Im a huge KT fan also, but i dont see him really helping out Duncan to tell you the truth. I would really like a bigger taller defender if at all possible. Deke would be ideal in my opinion. Hes great at weakside defense, hes smart and he can do post defense with the best of them. Imagine the Center position being started with Oberto and Thomas subing for Duncan while Deke comes in for about 20 minutes a game for Oberto.

I honestly think it would work out. But its just me

I'm down with that. Usually, I'm against the Spurs signing so many old, creaky veterans, but I would take a shot on Deke as a solid 18-20 backup center.

[benefactor]

I agree that we need another shotblocking type big...but I don't agree that Deke>KT. Deke is still a good defender at 79 years old, but from an all around versatility standpoint KT is a far greater asset. Defensively he can still disrupt players that are bigger than him at a pretty good rate and he moves well offensively and has a good midrange game. He is a better fit for our system.

[SenorSpur]

I agree that we need another shotblocking type big...but I don't agree that Deke>KT. Deke is still a good defender at 79 years old, but from an all around versatility standpoint KT is a far greater asset. Defensively he can still disrupt players that are bigger than him at a pretty good rate and he moves well offensively and has a good midrange game. He is a better fit for our system.

No doubt. I don't think anyone is suggesting, for one minute, that Deke could replace KT. However Deke is 7'2" and as they say, you can't teach height. That, coupled with his veteran presence and penchant for prolific shotblocking would be a formidable deterrent to the Western Conference bigs - even in a brief supporting role.

[angelbelow]

cool.

[xtremesteven33]

no way would i get rid of KT for Deke. All i am saying is that Deke is right now a FA. He says that he "only wants to play for the rockets" which could be word games to get more money from different teams.

Spurs (i believe) have around 2-3 Mill of cap space. I would think that would be enough for one season for Big Deke.