Can Thornton play defense or not? Prada said he fell out of favor with the coach because of his poor defense. I'm not hot on another Kevin Martin type at SG. If he can defend, sounds like a great pick-up.
So far I've been going on my memory, which my wife will tell you is a very dangerous thing to rely on. So I went back through my notes in hope of finding out what I originally thought of Thornton. I didn't have a lot other than I did like him as a possible second round pick. Other than that, here's what I came up with.
Very good scorer at the college level. He's really improved his outside shot from his junior year to his senior year, and has also improved his shot selection. Still takes too many bad forced shots, but has an uncanny way of making some of them. He's a good, but not great ballhandler and is a little too right handed. No comment on his passing ability since he doesn't pass the ball enough to get a good read. I think I should note that while he's doesn't pass the ball that much, he's not asked to pass in the system he's playing in, and that a lot of his shots are assisted shots. To that end he moves without the ball extremely well. He appears to be a good, but not great athlete.
His defense between his junior year and senior year has also improved. By no means would I call him a good or great defender, but he does put in the effort, and most of his weakness in that area come more from simple mistakes than lack of effort. Don't know if he'll ever be a good defender, due to being a little undersized, but I don't think he'll be a terrible defender, and his offensive ability should help compensate.
At the moment he has little or no mid-range game, which could hurt him at the next level. All his shots are either 3 pointers or at the basket. However he has good form on his shot, and I don't see why he can't develop a good midrange game. He can create his own shot, so you can run isolation plays for him. However his shooting percentage goes down off those plays. Not dramaticly, but there is a dropoff. Stats aside, he does make a lot of shots that are heavily challenged. While those are ill advised shots, you do have to admire his ability to make them. Maybe he admires them too much as well.
Thats all I have on him. I think he's a player that can certainly help the team with instant offense, and if used correctly might be someone we want to keep. Personally I don't see him as a starter, but more as a 6th man off the bench. I do think he's someone thats more effective when on the floor with someone else handling the ball and running the plays. He moves well without the ball, and is a good spot up shooter. He could fit well with Cousins in the high post, giving Cousins someone to pass to. He's not someone I want bringing the ball up the court.
I think he still has some upside, but most of that upside will come from improving what he already does, and learning how to play the game correctly. Athleticly, he is what he is, and there's not much left to tap in that area. We'll have 20 something games to see how he fits..
