Interesting that we could probably replace Jason Thompson's name with Tyrone Corbin's in this thread, same idea going on right now. I've kind of reached a point with both of these guys that it is really too bad what has happened, but the damage is done, may not be right, but it is what it is. I'm sure under better coaching and more stable management Jason Thompson could definitely have been a better player, but that can be said about a lot of players. I'm sure it goes the other way too, there were probably many players who were just kind of average coming out of college, but ended up playing for a better coach, with better players, and had a quality front office that turned into great players, maybe even star players. Jason Thompson wasn't so fortunate.
In my opinion at this point you have what you have with him. Most players don't change much at this point. He does work hard, all indications are that he stays in great shape, practices hard, and when motivated such as earlier in the season he plays with a lot of effort, I respect that. However he simply isn't good at much other than one on one post defense. For his size he is a poor rebounder, doesn't block or alter shots, doesn't pass well, has bad hands, and a low basketball IQ. He will always be limited no matter who the coach is. Now I do think a coach such as George Karl can get him motivated so we always get that effort and his post defense will always be there and it can be very helpful at times. Overall though if I had my choice I think moving Thompson would be best for him and us, if possible.
Also just to be clear on stats, this is about what Thompson was averaging:
With Malone: 5.0 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, and 0.5 Blocked Shots
With Corbin: 6.5 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, and 0.5 Blocked Shots
Points actually went up a little with Corbin as coach, everything else was about the same and I think that is about what you'll get with him under any coach. I will say that the effort and defense were much better when Malone was coach, forget the stats, I would take that Thompson any day over the other. Another point, Derrick Williams didn't take Thompson's spot, minutes were also consistent under both coaches for Thompson. Casspi is the one who lost out with Derrick Williams, in fact it actually seemed like that was a major issue between Malone and the front office, Malone preferred Casspi, the front office preferred Williams, the minute reversal was drastic.
