It amuses me that a lot of you are talking about Thomas' ability or inability to cover Shaq. I think you are all missing the point! Shaq is a shadow of himself. I don't think that was even a consideration for R.C. Thomas is an upgrade over Elson, period. Barry was out, although he will be missed on an emotional level at least but we were managing without him AND there is the possibility of his being able to return to us as many have implied. Finally, if all works out for us, the 08 Champs get the last pick in the first round anyway. Yes we have been pretty lucky in the past with our low first rounders but who is to say Seattle, by aquiring ours will be as shrewd as we have been in picking winners? Let's see what Kurt can do for us. I for one am excited with the prospect.
I think you put Duncan on Shaq and you put Thomas on Amare. Duncan has guarded Shaq well since about the 2006 season. Thomas guards Amare pretty well.
Duncan and Thomas works pretty nice against Gasol and Bynum. Put Thomas on Gasol and Duncan on Bynum.
Kurt Thomas?
The Spurs need Barry more than Thomas
so Manu was mad at Pop because of this? :P
My thoughts on the trade....
I think the Spurs clearly had to do something to combat the large frontlines that were developing for le-contending teams and Elson/Horry/Bonner were definitely not the answer.
For that purpose, I think they did very well with this trade. Thomas may be slow, but he's smart and effective...both offensively and especially defensively. Given that description, I think the Spurs just landed another Oberto....but that's of course a good thing.
Not sure how I feel about losing Barry, because he's a much more accomplished three-point shooter than Udoka, who has taken his spot in the rotation. I cross my fingers and hope that a playoff loss doesn't come down to a missed three point shot....but I have faith that Udoka can more than make up for it with his tenacious defense and rebounding.
Also, I'm not sure about the 2009 pick. While it most likely won't be for a superstar or the "next great thing", I think the Spurs are at a point where they have to start thinking about injecting some youth in their roster of role players. Certainly Mahinmi and Splitter are a step in that direction, and of course the Spurs still have a few picks in the 2008 draft...but I think 2009 might matter as well.
We'll see....
Bottom Line: Not a trade that puts the Spurs clearly in the drivers seat, but it does help them compete with those other le-contending teams and was probably the most level-headed, smart deal on the table.
In the end, you can't fault the team for giving up a future likely late first rounder to get better today.
Here's hoping Kurt can come in, play solid defense, rebound some shots, play within his limits....and help the Spurs repeat!
Obviously Thomas > Elson.
I thought you were Elson's #1 fan?
I do like the idea of Thomas on the court when Duncan is off the court. The problem is the other 38 minutes per game come playoff time.
Either way. I think Thomas can guard Bynum well in that hes a big bruiser and shove Bynum out and keep him from getting that easy shot inside.
I don't see the downside to giving up the 4th big on the Spurs for a guy that easily slides into the starting spot and is averaging 8.8 boards a game.
Unless the matchup dictates otherwise, I wouldn't have Duncan and Thomas on the floor at the same time. If Brent comes back then this trade is a definite plus.
Kurt Thomas has high basketball IQ?
Question
I was only his number 1 fan on fantasy football.
I rooted for Elson and I liked what I heard from people in Denver. He didn't produce and this year when he didn't pick up the rotations and was constantly getting ripped up and constantly getting told where to stand on defense got old and I had enough.
Once again, I don't see how Thomas who played fantastic in the playoffs last year, is all of a sudden a bad thing in these playoffs.
I guess Im just too optimistic.
You know in hindsight, you had to figure the Spurs had something up their sleeves. Barry has been out for quite some time now, yet we have never read an article or update on his injury or gotten and time table on his return. Spurs FO was able to hide this behind Parker's absence as well.
He can cure insomnia...
I see...and do you get excited about watching cars rust as well?I for one am excited with the prospect.
You are the first person to ever use the words Kurt Thomas and excitement in the same sentence...props.
He's averaging 7 points per game...and that's going to drop when he comes to SA.
I respectfully disagree.nless the matchup dictates otherwise, I wouldn't have Duncan and Thomas on the floor at the same time
Thomas can't guard Gasol. He did a good job on Duncan because Duncan is more of a post player. Gasol likes to face up from 10-15 feet an take his man off the dribble. Thomas can't stay in front of him.
Scola > Thomas
Answer
Thomas is good against Laker's, Houston, Utah, the teams that were the toughest macthups for the Spurs in the West pre-Thomas. He gives the Spurs a third, fourth good big and probably the second best after Duncan.
Thomas' 42 games with Seattle:
25 min per game
7.5 points
51.3% FG%
8.8 rebounds
2.2 off rebounds
1.0 blocks
That's pretty damn good. Especially to shoot at that clip on a young team. Slightly better shotblocking than what went out (Spurs are 26th in the league in blocking shots, so any improvement is welcome). Of course it's the rebounding that stands out. Even with the Spurs' defensive rebounding prowess, I would argue that it's important to have another big up front who can work the glass with Duncan. I wish there was a stat for 'rebounding in the paint' because I think the Spurs wouldn't be first in that. Overall, the Spurs are 19th in the NBA in rebounding (Seattle is 1st - go figure). Spurs are also 24th in the league in offensive rebounding. Certainly part of the reason for those rebounding rankings is quality offensive and defensive execution and having better shooting, but it's not like the Spurs don't have room for improvement.
I won't pretend that I am not disappointed that the Spurs did not roll the dice with Artest, but K. Thomas is a dependable, sure-fire low-post performer.
He can defend and score.
He won't hurt us at the line and has a good basketball IQ.
I'm happy the front office addressed a need.
Well done.
i'll miss brent.
cisco, not so much.
at least we got bigger again.
Me and Ghost agree. (I disagree about Artest)
I agree 1000% low post defender and rebounding have been something this team has been missing since Nazr's over his head performances in the playoffs in 05.
Period, this fixes it.
Fair enough...
Thomas guards Amare pretty well.
This I want to see....if he's a bigman that can guard Amare...he's the first.
Duncan and Thomas works pretty nice against Gasol and Bynum. Put Thomas on Gasol and Duncan on Bynum.
I'll agree with that....but I still liked the idea of aquiring Artest One thousand times more.
The biggest problem I've seen with the Spurs this season is their offense; If the Big 3 are having an off night, Spurs have a hard time cracking 90. Bowen, Udoka, Vaughn/Damon, Horry, Finley have all been up and down this season. Barry was the Spurs best 3 point shooter and he's proven to knock down those 3 pointers for the Spurs in the postseason. I just hope the lack of offense doesn't come back to haunt them.
On the other hand, no one exactly knows the extent of Barry's re-injury. Spurs were really CIA on that
I still think ron artest wouldve made a good move,
at least he can gaurd dirk, amare and stuff
Also a nice wrinkle is that Thomas can score some points, especialy with his J. The Spurs' offensive spacing should improve a little with him in the rotation instead of Elson.
Also, I agree with a lot of the posters....Barry+Elson+1st Round pick seems like a lot for Kurt Thomas
Also GOOD RIDDANCE TO ELSON!
What a waste of space he was...
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
