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It could happen. It depends on how much work he puts in. Also, Stromile's nickname is Slo-mile. He's supposedly dumb as a post about b-ball. Haven't really heard that about Thomas.
+1
He's having a poor season, but who isn't on the Bulls? Last year, he ripped down 3.7 boards and blocked 1.1 shots...in 13.4 minutes.
It could happen. It depends on how much work he puts in. Also, Stromile's nickname is Slo-mile. He's supposedly dumb as a post about b-ball. Haven't really heard that about Thomas.
He's looking up at Stromile Swift at this moment. Swift was much better than Thomas at this point in their careers.
Thomas is nearly a bust at this point.
Stro's rookie season was an almost carbon copy of Thomas's. Stro's minutes climbed sharply, while Thomas is caught in a logjam in year two. If Thomas puts in the work, he can be better. Stro always relied on his hops and never really had anything else to fall back on.
I've followed Thomas for a few years...he could be an absolute stud in the right system, which is not Chicago. His current situation is a classic example of a bad fit.
Thomas could also be in the rotation this year and gives the Spurs an athletic high energy 4 that they've never really had. Elson and Mahinmi for Thomas is equitable, but I wouldn't do much more than that. Maybe a 2nd rounder.
Actually, as I think about Mahinmi's skill set, he'd be helpful to Chicago. And in terms of high energy 4s, Chicago has to choose between Noah and Thomas.
I find the reported interest in Thomas...well interesting. I think it might say alot in regards to how the Spurs feel about Mahinmi.
Let me explain....
Mahinmi, when drafted, was billed as a raw super-athletic big man with a penchant for blocking shots and grabbing boards. That is an eerily similar profile to the aformentioned Thomas.
But, this year Mahinmi has come over to the D-League and shown neither the propensity to block nor the propensity to grab rebounds. Instead, much to the suprise of the Spurs coaching staff I'm sure and probably many forum members, Mahinmi has focused on low-post scoring....doing quite well actually.
While I think MANY coaching staffs would welcome this suprise, I think it might actually be turning off the Spurs FO, who were hoping Mahinmi would use his supreme athleticism on the defensive end rather than on offense.
Thomas, on the other hand, has really lived up to his billing as a defensive stud in his limited minutes with the Bulls. He has shown both the propensity to grab boards (especially offensively) and to block shots. While he still has a LONG way to go offensively, I think it is less of a concern with THIS front office than most others. Plus, the fact that he is stuck behind a $15M/yr player and their first rounder from this year, means he might be had cheaper than one would suspect for a lottery pick just a short while ago.
I'm not sure what the Spurs have to really entice the Bulls to pull this deal off, but I think the interest itself says alot about what the Spurs are looking for. Whether I agree with them or not, I think it's clear that they are more than willing to get rid of young prospects (think Butler and Scola) to find players that fit their system and style of play.
As far as Thomas himself is concerned, the main issue I have is his at ude. For a guy that was projected to be like Shawn Marion, he has a TON of work to do, and this at ude that he's exhibited thus far like he's already "arrived" isn't going to get him there.
Having said all that....
I would love for the Spurs to take a chance on this kid. Having lived in SEC country I saw the way this kid just took over games despite having less skill than others. He basically established his dominance by sheer will and determination....and insane athleticism. If the Spurs can get this guy and turn that determination into production, there's ALOT to like.
Last edited by AFBlue; 02-03-2008 at 10:05 PM.
Nice post Tony. Good points all.
That's "penchant for blocking shots", btw.
ehh, i agree with shoogarbear, he wouldnt have any impact this year... and most bulls boards ive seen are pretty divided on thomas- theres the free thomas crowd and the i-cant-believe we traded aldridge-for-this crowd
that said, if you can turn elsons expiring + mahinimi or a pick for a young athletic player that can block shots, do it.
Noted and changed....
If we're already over the cap why the eff notTrade scenarios, salary-knowledged members?
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/feature...24~4&te=&cash=
I think some of you would like this one.
Eh, I'd have to think about that one. I know a lot of NBA fans hate Noah but I think he still has a chance to be pretty good.
What do people think about Noah? LJ, would you do a Noah for Elson/Mahinmi 1st rounder? I like his energy.
I'd likely trade Splitter for Thomas. I haven't seen Splitter that much this year so I can't say 100% that I would. But unless Splitter is vastly improved, I'd do it.
There's definitely a chance. But even if there's a 60% chance he turns into Slo-mile and 40% chance he figures it out, that 40% chance is well worth the risk. The Spurs defense how it's build is dependent on shotblockers. It's been quite amazing that they've been able to win two championships since Robinson retired and took his shotblocking with him.
But that's also the reason that Duncan gets in foul trouble in the playoffs because he is now the last wall of defense all by himself. Put a shotblocker like Thomas on the floor who can matchup big or small and the defense would get much better.
If Elson got pretty decent minutes last year in the playoffs, Pop would find some minutes for Thomas. However, getting Thomas would definitely be a move for the future. With a truckload of expiring contracts, now is the time to flip them into pieces that can be used now and down the line. We saw what happened with Kwame Brown's contract ... and the Spurs have expiring contracts totaling nearly two times that.
Is Thomas the kind of shot blocker that's opportunistic, coming off the ball. Or is he the kind that controls the player and blocks the shot a la Robinson and Duncan to a lesser degree. I think he's much more the opportunistic type and his paint defense would not be so great in a Spurs system. Of course this year the Spurs don't have that system. I think Mahinmi has a better chance of being an intimidator in the paint, if he can catch on.
Ric Bucher ?
Really?
picnroll -- Horry is more of the opportunistic shot blocker, as is Tyrus Thomas.
If guys like Gasol and now Tyrus Thomas are truly available for expiring contracts, the Spurs absolutely need to find a way to get younger talent.
And Spurs can't run their twin tower defense with Horry. Probably less so with Thomas. Mahinmi in his brief four games with the Spurs averaged 8.5 blocks per 48 minutes. Granted he was reasonably clueless and foul prone but he hasn't been in the league 2 years and shown the relatively low IQ of Thomas. I'm sure the Spurs have or are sizing Ian up and may feel he doesn't have it but I'm not convinced he doesn't have as good or better a chance of being a solid post defender then Thomas.
Thomas is a weakside shotblocker. Duncan has morphed into taking a lot of Robinson's responsibilities in the defense. However, adding a shotblocker who can block players he's not guarding would be a really addition to this defense. The only halfway decent weakside shotblocker on this team is Horry and Horry doesn't really have the legs to do it much anymore.
Last time I looked, the Spurs averaged the second fewest blocks per game out of any team in the NBA. With a defense that funnels players to the bigmen, that's absurdly bad and a big reason why the Spurs aren't very good defensively this year. Duncan has to play out of his mind defense like he did last year in the playoffs for the Spurs to become a good defensive team nowadays.
Hmm. I don't know if they are looking for an athlete to repalce Ian or play with him.
Mahinmi has played a total of 23 minutes in the NBA. That sample size is awfully small to be pulling out the per 48 minutes stats
Mahinmi hasn't shown to be able to block shots in the D-League, which isn't a good sign. In fact, Mahinmi hasn't shown to do much of anything on the defensive end because when he tries to do anything, he fouls.
I can confidently say that Thomas > Mahinmi in all aspects of defense right now. Maybe that will change at some point down the line but it's not even close right now.
At their best Robinson and Duncan ere both weak side and strong side shot blockers. Spurs have a better chance of accomplishing that with Mahinmi or Splitter, though Splitter doesn't seem to go for the block. Thomas would be okay in small ball but I don't think in the Spurs traditional twin tower D.
The upside with Thomas is in him developing his perimeter game and becoming a viable option at the 3. Right now he's probably strictly a 4, but if he were able to work on his perimter offense he could be a legitimate option for both.
With Oberto locked up for 3 years, Splitter most likely coming over next year, and the ability to go out and sign a stop-gap center if necessary, I think it makes the departure of Mahinmi somewhat palatable.
Of course none of this talk, to include trading Mahinmi, has been substantiated....but I can see why the Spurs might be interested in Thomas and may in fact be willing to part with Mahinmi to do so.
I know it's a small sample size. Thomas in his greater minutes, approximaately 15 per game is 56th in the league in blocks, not bad not great. Petro is better and Mahinmi could possibly be as good as Petro. I'm not sure how much of Mahinmi's lack of defense in the D league is Spurs trying to keep him on the court. I haven't seen Mahinmi. Does he against play and get abused by the better bigs like Brown, Fazekas, etc..Mahinmi has played a total of 23 minutes in the NBA. That sample size is awfully small to be pulling out the per 48 minutes stats
Mahinmi hasn't shown to be able to block shots in the D-League, which isn't a good sign. In fact, Mahinmi hasn't shown to do much of anything on the defensive end because when he tries to do anything, he fouls.
I can confidently say that Thomas > Mahinmi in all aspects of defense right now. Maybe that will change at some point down the line but it's not even close right now.
I think Thomas has the freak athleticism to play both styles of defense for the Spurs. But yeah, right away he'd be most useful as a weapon to use in place of small ball.
Either way, I think this is a moot point because the Bulls aren't going to give up on him for what the Spurs can offer. The Spurs could offer Mahinmi, Splitter and a first and I don't think the Bulls take it. Not that Thomas is great but it's rare for a team hurting for bigs to trade a big a season after basically using the second pick in the draft to acquire him.
The other name mentioned in this thread, JR Smith, is a much more plausible option. I'd like a move to acquire Smith most likely, but it'd depend on what the Spurs give up.
If you are going to use per 48 minute stats for Mahinmi, you have to point out that Thomas was third in the NBA last year in blocks per 48 minutes. This season has been an all-around disaster for Thomas but outside of players like Camby and Josh Smith, Thomas has as much shotblocking potential as anyone in the league.
I haven't seen him matched up against many primetime bigs. Probably the best matchup I saw him in were the two games he played against Cedric Simmons and Simmons came out looking like slightly the better prospect.
I've never seen Mahinmi shut down a D-League post threat in a one-on-one capacity ... then again, I haven't watched every Toros game this season.
I'm surprised that you'd still take on JR Smith after his showing last playoffs, timvp. The kid has a brain in limbo...
No way does this trade happen. IF Paxon did this trade he'd be down to only 6 or 7 SF on the Bulls roster.
As for Tyrus...this guy has sick skill, not just as a shotblocker, but he gets a lot of steals, rebounds and dunks as well.
One huge problem with him though, he doesn't run back on D, and that's the reason he's been in the doghouse in Chicago for most of the season.
Skiles flat out told him, in person, and in the media, that if he got back on d he'd get on the court, and he still didn't do it.
Bottom line...guy has talent, like the Gerald Wallace or AK47 defensive skill set....but I'm not so sure he'd have a different at ude here than he did in Chicago...Skiles is an over-rated coach but he didn't play any mind games with Thomas, he flat out told him what he needed to do to get minutes...didn't work.
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