Tristan Thompson

[MYoung23]

The thing is he's a dime-a-dozen player... What does he do to make this team better ? (HUSTLE ?) There's nothing about Tristan Thompson that suggests to me this is our PF of the future and will be the PF of a team that is contending for anything..... Nothing.... He can't stretch the floor, he can't post up, you can't pick and pop with him, he's an average to below average rebounder etc....

He could be out of the league in 5 years and nobody would notice

Yeah, you're right about his deficiencies.

He has 2 major attributes and they are offensive rebounding and drawing fouls. 3 if you include hustle which some people say is a skill.

The Cavaliers are banking on him getting better in the other areas. The problem, which many of his supporters dont see, is that he is so awkward and robotic that it doesnt look like he will ever be a player you want to run a play for let alone be an offensive option. Thompson is woefully unskilled offensively in terms of the game of the modern NBA PF which is different than being raw. Raw means you have skill that needs to be refined. Unskilled means you're starting from scratch because there isnt anything previously there.

I've racked my brain for quite a while trying to think a PF that was also lacked fluidity and became a good offensive player and I couldnt think of one. This doesnt mean he cant be useful. Hell, Tyrone Hill played over a decade and made an All Star team. But, he's not a guy you just pencil in as a starter going forward and he certainly isn't a guy for whom you draft a complement for in the frontcourt.

It feels like the Cavaliers have hitched their wagon to player and now painting themselves into a corner which brings up larger questions about the overall talent of this "core" but Im just going to let that play out.

[mAo_mAo]

JJ Hickson was raw when he came in but TT's offense is just not there.

[Nathan S]

To be fair, he's shooting a straight 50% through 7 preseason games and 2 regular season games. Say what you want about his limited skillset, but at least he's improving.

[mAo_mAo]

To be fair, he's shooting a straight 50% through 7 preseason games and 2 regular season games. Say what you want about his limited skillset, but at least he's improving.

I hate stats when used in the argument. LOL. Stats do not tell everything. If that 50% is on 7/14 shots or the like I will be impressed but if all of his shots are dunks and lay ins then that stat is skewed. You don't need stats to tell that he really has no offensive skill.

[NarlCavs]

Thompson should shoot 50% plus considering almost all his shots are within 5 feet of the basket.

He's a guy who will have a pretty long career but I've felt from the start and have seen nothing to change my mind that you can get a player/PF at his level later in the draft. I hope he can become more than that though but right now it's tough to see that happening.
Of all the moves Grant has made, the choice of Thompson is the one that still bothers me and I can't agree with. If Cavs go in different direction at #4 in 2011 they then wouldn't have had to make the Zeller trade and could have tried to fill other holes and collected more young assets. Have said from the start that PF is the easiest position to fill. Also when you take one high who lacks offensive skill it then adds difficulty in putting together the pieces that can fit with that player.

Thompson can play in the league and I do not hate him. Just that a player at his level and at his position could have been found fairly easy later in the Cavs building process.

[CPK]

I hate stats when used in the argument. LOL. Stats do not tell everything. If that 50% is on 7/14 shots or the like I will be impressed but if all of his shots are dunks and lay ins then that stat is skewed. You don't need stats to tell that he really has no offensive skill.

I think he's looked pretty good in the first two games. He's able to distribute and he can create and he's been playing some pretty good defense, especially for a rookie. He'll need to finish better but I believe that's going to come with more experience at this level and strength training. He gets a bit wild with his shot and as it's been mentioned before he's streak but time will tell if that keeps or the coaches coach him out of losing form.

I said it on draft night - Chris Grant is either going to look like a genious or be out of a job with his selections of Tristan and Dion. In both drafts I was leaning toward the bigs - JV and then Drummond. I will freely admit that as we got closer to the draft I wasn't as high on Drummond with all the talk around his attitude and as well his just OK performance in college - but Kyrie with a big that can finish on the pick and roll would be amazingly hard to stop.

At the end of the day I like both TT and Waiters and, as I'm sure we'll agree, we all do because we want this teem to succeed and in turn want them to succeed. They have the right attitudes but only time will tell if that will pay off.

[Sawduzt]

For tt to carve a niche for himself it will be as a great post defender who can handle defending the p+r on the perimeter. His arms are about 5inches longer than his,brain realises and that's not going to change . But if he can become elite defensively then hell be a starting pf for years

[Triumph36]

I think he's looked pretty good in the first two games. He's able to distribute and he can create and he's been playing some pretty good defense, especially for a rookie. He'll need to finish better but I believe that's going to come with more experience at this level and strength training. He gets a bit wild with his shot and as it's been mentioned before he's streak but time will tell if that keeps or the coaches coach him out of losing form.

I said it on draft night - Chris Grant is either going to look like a genious or be out of a job with his selections of Tristan and Dion. In both drafts I was leaning toward the bigs - JV and then Drummond. I will freely admit that as we got closer to the draft I wasn't as high on Drummond with all the talk around his attitude and as well his just OK performance in college - but Kyrie with a big that can finish on the pick and roll would be amazingly hard to stop.

At the end of the day I like both TT and Waiters and, as I'm sure we'll agree, we all do because we want this teem to succeed and in turn want them to succeed. They have the right attitudes but only time will tell if that will pay off.

yep, this nailed it (though I think Jonas/Waiters > TT/Waiters).

the bad thing is how well....the fate of the franchise is largely riding on those 2 decisions. if they were wrong, the selection of kyrie is pretty much a waste.

For tt to carve a niche for himself it will be as a great post defender who can handle defending the p+r on the perimeter. His arms are about 5inches longer than his,brain realises and that's not going to change . But if he can become elite defensively then hell be a starting pf for years

i've said it before, but even if he becomes the defensive stopper that people think he can be, what the hell are the cavs going to do at center?

they are still gonna struggle if neither their pf nor center has any sort of game outside a few feet from the basket.

[RTrees]

For tt to carve a niche for himself it will be as a great post defender who can handle defending the p+r on the perimeter. His arms are about 5inches longer than his,brain realises and that's not going to change . But if he can become elite defensively then hell be a starting pf for years

Anyone tall can tell you, that does actually change when your brain, muscles, nerves catch up to those long bones. Patience with Tristan Thompson. He may not have time become Ray Allen but his impact will continue to grow as his brain catches up with his body imo.

[Sawduzt]

If he was 17 I would agree. He's not actually very young and has been his height for a number of years. I don't think his coordination will improve that much. Its not like he hasn't had hours of drills a day up to this point

[ArchieBunker7]

The Unibrow grew from a PG to one of the best up and coming bigs in the game. I don't remember ever hearing any stories about TT like that. Didn't Davis grow like 7 or 8 inches in the span of a year or so. That is the kind of thing that can completely throw off a kid's coordination. Funny thing is, with Davis, you wouldn't ever know. He's very agile, has nice hand/eye coordination, etc.

[Mdog1]

If he was 17 I would agree. He's not actually very young and has been his height for a number of years. I don't think his coordination will improve that much. Its not like he hasn't had hours of drills a day up to this point

The average male brain develops to 25 from what i've heard. If that is accurate then Tristan still has years of mental improvement ahead of him, and no player is at their physical peak in their early 20's either...

[PATRICK EWING]

Yeah the growth (for this team needs to be significant)... If he was on the LBJ Cavs it would be a different story... Thompson needs to be a cornerstone, aa 15-17PPG 10 boards a night guy...

Where are those points coming from ? Diving into the lane on drives from Irving/Waiters ?

It's not like he has good hands/soft touch around the rim...

He wasn't the type of risk/reach pick we needed in the first impact draft we were going to have... He doesn't bring anything to the table... 8-10 pts and 8-10 rebounds is just not a impact from a cornerstone frontcourt player... Franchise with such depleted talent simply needs more...

[ArchieBunker7]

Ok here we go again. 5:40 2Q. TT gets a money dish from Kyrie. JUST TAKE THE DAM BALL UP HARD!!!! No. Instead, he hesitates with that gather up bs and blows another gimme. I don't think another supposedly athletically gifted big in the NBA gets blocked at the rim like he does. Dude drives me crazy.

[GreatGoo]

He just isn't very good. IMO he is actually a poor man JJ Hickson. Sad statement.