Kurt Thomas

An appreciation thread for the battle tested veteran.



Kurt Vincent Thomas (born October 4, 1972, in Dallas, Texas) is an American professional basketball player with the National Basketball Association's (NBA) San Antonio Spurs. Thomas is a 6'9", 235 lb. power forward/center known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense. After graduating from Dallas' Hillcrest High School, he graduated from Texas Christian University, where he led the NCAA Division I in scoring and rebounding, becoming only the third player in history to accomplish this feat.[1] A natural power forward, he spent most of his career playing the center position with the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns. Despite being undersized at that position, he is renowned for his ability to grab rebounds, and for his consistent mid-range jumpshot. He has gained a reputation as a smart player who does not commit many mistakes.

On July 20, 2007, Thomas, along with the Suns' first-round draft choices in 2008 and 2010 was traded by the Suns to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for a conditional second-round draft choice and an $8 million trade exception.[2]

Thomas was traded by the Sonics to the San Antonio Spurs on February 20, 2008, for Francisco Elson, Brent Barry, and a 2009 first round draft pick.[3]

Career transactions--

June 28, 1995: Drafted first round, 10th pick by Miami Heat
Signed by the Heat to three-year contract on October 5, 1995
Traded by the Heat with Predrag "Sasha" Danilovic and Martin Muursepp to Dallas Mavericks for Jamal Mashburn on 14 February 1997
Named assistant coach of the Dallas Mavericks, 4 December 1997[4]
Signed by the New York Knicks to three-year, $2.7 million contract on 22 January 1999
Re-signed by Knicks on 1 August 2000
Re-signed by Knicks to four-year, $30 million contract extension on 9 March 2004
2005 June 28: Traded by the Knicks with draft rights to Dijon Thompson to Phoenix Suns for Quentin Richardson, draft rights to Nate Robinson and cash
2007 July 20: Traded by the Phoenix Suns along with first-round draft choices in 2008 and 2010 to the Seattle SuperSonics for a second-round draft choice and an $8 million trade exception.
2008 February 20: Traded by the Seatle SuperSonics to the San Antonio Spurs for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson, and a 2009 first round draft pick.

he was so meant to be a spur

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Originally Posted by urunobili

he was so meant to be a spur

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:toast True Dat!

Captain America would totally take Batman in a street fight.

I only wonder what took so long for the Spurs to get him, I'm sure Pop wanted him all along.

Big Trade’s everyone was talking about

Gasol to the Lakers

Kidd to Dallas (out in the 1st round)

Shaq to Phoenix (out in the 1st round)



The big trade no one was talking about:

Kurt Thomas to the Spurs (and they get Barry Back)

Perfect fit.

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Originally Posted by J.T.

Captain America would totally take Batman in a street fight.

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:lol But...Cap's dead. Or are we assuming Ra's or somebody else used a Lazarus pit on him?

Also, fuck yeah, Daredevil, for coming up huge in G1.

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Originally Posted by BATMAN

Named assistant coach of the Dallas Mavericks, 4 December 1997[4]

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Didn't know this one.

I gotta hand it to ol' crazy eyes. He is proving to be a very valuable acquisition.

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Originally Posted by jmard5

Didn't know this one.

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Me neither, thats a cool fact.

I don't know he'll be able to hang with the athletic front court that NO will throw at us, but he was worth every penny and then some in the Suns series. Go KT!!!

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Originally Posted by ancestron

I gotta hand it to ol' crazy eyes. He is proving to be a very valuable acquisition.

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http://www.nba.com/media/act_kurt_thomas.jpg

His San Antonio Name Ojos locos http://www.surefunk.com/sureforum/im...tanets_ani.gif

Can't wait to see what this dude can do after a full training camp and season of experience under his belt. Kurt better not pull a Nazr on us.

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Originally Posted by Taco

Big Trade’s everyone was talking about

Gasol to the Lakers

Kidd to Dallas (out in the 1st round)

Shaq to Phoenix (out in the 1st round)



The big trade no one was talking about:

Kurt Thomas to the Spurs (and they get Barry Back)

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actually, I would rather the Spurs made the trade for Gasol, if you want the truth.

THe Spurs didn't have a former hof puling the strings for them there on that one.

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Originally Posted by Dex

Can't wait to see what this dude can do after a full training camp and season of experience under his belt. Kurt better not pull a Nazr on us.

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Don't expect much more than what your seeing now. Thomas is not getting any younger and is on the decline.

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Originally Posted by rascal

Don't expect much more than what your seeing now. Thomas is not getting any younger and is on the decline.

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Awww someones pissed that the trade worked out!!! :lol

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Originally Posted by T Park

Awww someones pissed that the trade worked out!!! :lol

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No, the Thomas trade is no big deal. Just a role player type of acquisistion. No way a big difference maker. The Kidd and Shaq trades were reaches from desperate teams that were not going to win anyways. The Gasol trade was a steal that made the lakers better.

Yeah no big deal, it only helped get the Spurs past the Suns.

No big deal at all...

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Originally Posted by rascal

Don't expect much more than what your seeing now. Thomas is not getting any younger and is on the decline.

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I don't expect the guy to work miracles or anything, but he looks lost out there on the offensive end right now. As a defender, he's intuitive and solid enough to get the job done, but he obviously hasn't been around long enough to pick up the nuances of the Spurs offense.

Give him some time to figure that out, and I think he could become the best center we've had since DRob left. (Depending, of course, upon how quickly Splitter pans out and is able to contribute)

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Originally Posted by rascal

No, the Thomas trade is no big deal. Just a role player type of acquisistion. No way a big difference maker.

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Having the right role player can make all the difference in the playoffs. Speedy Claxton. Steve Kerr. Robert Horry. All of them have helped swing pivotal games in the past. Thomas did the same thing against the Suns.

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Originally Posted by Dex

I don't expect the guy to work miracles or anything, but he looks lost out there on the offensive end right now. As a defender, he's intuitive and solid enough to get the job done, but he obviously hasn't been around long enough to pick up the nuances of the Spurs offense.

Give him some time to figure that out, and I think he could become the best center we've had since DRob left. (Depending, of course, upon how quickly Splitter pans out and is able to contribute)

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Hes been around long enough to be contributing more on offense if he was a better offensive player. He is not a strong offensive player and won't be called on for much offense anyways. Gasol has been with the lakers just as long factoring that Gasol was injured for awhile and look at how he is contributing on offense.

Thomas is a role player type of player on the downside so don't expect much more than what your seeing now.

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Originally Posted by justanotherspursfan

Having the right role player can make all the difference in the playoffs. Speedy Claxton. Steve Kerr. Robert Horry. All of them have helped swing pivotal games in the past. Thomas did the same thing against the Suns.

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Disagree that Thomas was an intregal part in that series. Pop's hack a Shaq strategy killed the Suns offensive flow and took Shaq right out of the game mentally.

Role players are interchangeable. They can be replaced with other role players who can do the same job. They are not the difference makers.
You win with your star players.

Thomas played solid D in the Suns series and gave a big body..

I don't know what league you've been watching, but role players are a huge part of winning a championship..did you not watch the 2003 finals? how do you think we won the title? it was Duncan with a rookie Parker, inexperienced Manu and an over the hill Admiral..Duncan was amazing in the playoffs, but where do you think his help came from? the role players that played solid D and made 3's..

role players are huge..

:toast to KT for:
1. stepping straight into the team and contributing,
2. always playing hard, even through the ridiculous fouls he accumulates,
3. being a hard-nut who doesn't take shit from anyone!

You rock Kurt, hope you stay on for a few more years.

It amazes me how quickly Kurt can pick up fouls. Sometimes it just cracks me up. The fool is a wrecking ball! But at the same time, he's a great fit, and I'm more than happy to have him in silver and black.

KT brings strong rebounding, a physical presence and good defender. A real pro's pro and a real good fit. Too bad he doesn't have many more seasons lef. I only wished they'd been able to get him about 5 years ago.