The Case of Jason Thompson

[VF21]

Haha....your love for JT goes deep. I get you don't like Landry, that's fine. I don't get the amount of love you have for the guy. He does nothing well. I don't get it. He's very average in just about every area. Average defense, not much post game, terrible hands, I do like his elbow jumper. This is the guy you go to bat for every time someone rips on him.

No, what you don't get is that every single team in the league needs role players and JT is one of those. He knows his role and he does it to the best of his ability. He's never gonna be an all-star, he's never gonna be one of the greatest to play the game. What he is, however, is someone who is often overlooked and only brought up when someone wants to complain about his facial expressions and bad habit of showing his disappointment every single time he's called for a foul. Tim Duncan has done the same thing for years. Unfortunately for JT, he doesn't have the skills of Timmy D. so he doesn't get a pass on his behavior.

twslam07 has done a good job of making a case for JT as a serviceable third big in this league. That's why people like Slim step up and "go to bat" for him when people like yourself sell him short.

Since you're so sold on Carl Landry, I'd like to see you put up a list for him with anything close to the values presented for Jason. Quite frankly, I doubt it can be done.

 

[King Baller]

JT is a nice fit in the 3rd Big role. He plays the 5 as well as the 4 spot. He can post up, shoot the 15 footer. JT defends and rebounds pretty well also.

I think Petrie was a little too generous with JT. But that is not Jason's fault!

KB

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Haha....your love for JT goes deep. I get you don't like Landry, that's fine. I don't get the amount of love you have for the guy. He does nothing well. I don't get it. He's very average in just about every area. Average defense, not much post game, terrible hands, I do like his elbow jumper. This is the guy you go to bat for every time someone rips on him.

If my describing a player as the lesser of three evils fits your definition of me "going to bat" for him, you might want to turn away when I actually decide to rip a guy. I don't know what color the sky is in your world, where me saying Thompson is better than Carl Landry is semantically equivalent to "love," but it does sound like it could be an interesting place to spend a duty-free weekend...

 

[Gilles]

We're not dealing with an Artest who likes to go up into the stands and fight fans and we're not dealing with an Arenas who likes to carry guns on him. The way a player reacts to calls is hardly an excuse to get rid of him. I can't remember the last time (or anytime for that matter) a player has been shipped away because he complains at calls.

Thompson is a third big. However, on our team, he is the 2nd best big. There's no reason to get rid of a player who would probably be one of the best third bigs in the league because you don't have that 2nd big caliber player on the team just yet. If you have to give up Thompson to get that starting big next to Cousins, you do it, but you don't just get rid of Thompson because of how he reacts to calls. That's asinine.

Gibson, Hickson, Asik, Scola, J. Hill, Koufos, and Henson are probably some of the best third bigs in the league right now. However, I don't think it will be long before Henson establishes himself as a starting caliber PF. Chicago has talked about amnestying Boozer and going forward with Gibson as their PF of the future. Asik is a starting caliber center who just so happens to be stuck behind one of the best centers in the league. After taking that into consideration, Thompson would be among some of the best third bigs in the league. Having a bench that starts with Thomas and Thompson is very strong.

Gibson and Asik make more, Scola is a step away from retirement, Hill is very injury-prone and Henson and Koufos will make more, once their contracts are up. Unfortunately, JT became the beneficiary of Geoff's favorite game, bidding against himself. Today he would make $4.5-5 million on the open market, which is a great deal for your first bench big. That said those additional $1.5 million he gets is not the worst use of funds on this team...

 

[dude12]

No, what you don't get is that every single team in the league needs role players and JT is one of those. He knows his role and he does it to the best of his ability. He's never gonna be an all-star, he's never gonna be one of the greatest to play the game. What he is, however, is someone who is often overlooked and only brought up when someone wants to complain about his facial expressions and bad habit of showing his disappointment every single time he's called for a foul. Tim Duncan has done the same thing for years. Unfortunately for JT, he doesn't have the skills of Timmy D. so he doesn't get a pass on his behavior.

twslam07 has done a good job of making a case for JT as a serviceable third big in this league. That's why people like Slim step up and "go to bat" for him when people like yourself sell him short.

Since you're so sold on Carl Landry, I'd like to see you put up a list for him with anything close to the values presented for Jason. Quite frankly, I doubt it can be done.

Another JT lover.

 

[dude12]

If my describing a player as the lesser of three evils fits your definition of me "going to bat" for him, you might want to turn away when I actually decide to rip a guy. I don't know what color the sky is in your world, where me saying Thompson is better than Carl Landry is semantically equivalent to "love," but it does sound like it could be an interesting place to spend a duty-free weekend...

No, no.....it goes beyond just this thread. During game threads, you always come to his defense....and there is nothing wrong with that. Some people, educated people, do not believe JT to be a quality 3rd big at this point in his career. He would not be a 20-24 minute rotation guy on a playoff team.....and that s just an opinion since until he's traded or the Kings make the playoffs, we won't know.

And VF I need to see anyone's breakdown of JT to prove he's a quality big, imo, I don't see it at this point. So what side do you fall on this? He's a quality 3rd big or what I guess Slim is saying, which is that he doesn't suck as much as the other guys on our team? That is not a ringing endorsement.

 

[dude12]

No, what you don't get is that every single team in the league needs role players and JT is one of those. He knows his role and he does it to the best of his ability. He's never gonna be an all-star, he's never gonna be one of the greatest to play the game. What he is, however, is someone who is often overlooked and only brought up when someone wants to complain about his facial expressions and bad habit of showing his disappointment every single time he's called for a foul. Tim Duncan has done the same thing for years. Unfortunately for JT, he doesn't have the skills of Timmy D. so he doesn't get a pass on his behavior.

twslam07 has done a good job of making a case for JT as a serviceable third big in this league. That's why people like Slim step up and "go to bat" for him when people like yourself sell him short.

Since you're so sold on Carl Landry, I'd like to see you put up a list for him with anything close to the values presented for Jason. Quite frankly, I doubt it can be done.

Landry seemed to be an integral part if last years Warriors team. Does that count?

 

[Entity]

Landry seemed to be an integral part if last years Warriors team. Does that count?

If you are a warriors fan it counts. On the other side why do let such an integral part of your team walk?

 

[bajaden]

Since Mr Dude has made Landry the poster boy for his debate about Thompson, maybe we should compare the two. According to him, Landry is the perfect big off the bench, and Thompson probably shouldn't be in the NBA. OK, I exaggerate a bit. Anyway, Landry is going to make $6,750,000.00 this year, and JT is going to make $5,643,750.00. That means that Landry must be $1,106,250.00 better than JT. Actually more, according to Mr Dude, because he's implied that JT is highly overpaid. Well, for starters, I think I can safely say that were coming closer to getting our moneys worth out of JT this year, than we are Landry, who has only played in 18 games.

While I'm on that subject, doesn't durability count for something. I mean if it doesn't, then one could say that Greg Oden is a HOF candidate, based on what he might do if on the court. In that regard, in seven seasons counting the current one, Landry has played in 407 games out of a possible 574. He has never played in 82 regular season games. He came close last year when he played in 81 for the Warriors. In his career he has missed a total of 167 games, or the equivalent of two seasons. JT, in six seasons counting the current one, and assuming he won't miss any remaining games, will have played 450 games out of a possible 492. He will have missed a total of 42 games. It doesn't matter how good you are if you aren't on the floor.

If you go back and compare last years stats, since Landry didn't play enough games this year for a comparison, the two players are fairly even. I would give Landry a small edge, but I don't think its a $1,106,250.00 edge.

Landry: 23.2 MPG - 10.8 PPG - 54.0% FGP - 6.0 RPG - 0.4 BPG
Per 40: 19.0 PPG - 10.5 RPG - 0.6 BPG

Thompson: 27.9 MPG - 10.9 PPG - 50.2% FGP - 6.7 RPG - 0.7 BPG
Per 40: 16.0 PPG - 9.7 RPG - 1.0 BPG

So one of these guys is supposed to be a stud off the bench, and the other is an inept baffoon. OK, I exaggerate again. I'm the first to say that stats don't tell the whole story, but I'm sorry, I just don't see a world of difference between the two. And when you take into consideration that JT is a better defender, along with being far more durable, I'd rather have JT, if my choice is between Landry and JT. Just my opinion. And I'm not a lover or a hater when it comes to players. Those terms are usually thrown around by provocateurs who search for a sore spot to poke.

 

[pshn80]

No, no.....it goes beyond just this thread. During game threads, you always come to his defense....and there is nothing wrong with that. Some people, educated people, do not believe JT to be a quality 3rd big at this point in his career. He would not be a 20-24 minute rotation guy on a playoff team.....and that s just an opinion since until he's traded or the Kings make the playoffs, we won't know.

And VF I need to see anyone's breakdown of JT to prove he's a quality big, imo, I don't see it at this point. So what side do you fall on this? He's a quality 3rd big or what I guess Slim is saying, which is that he doesn't suck as much as the other guys on our team? That is not a ringing endorsement.

I like JT and his position on this team. I can also live with you not liking him.

 

[randymoss1881]

If you are a warriors fan it counts. On the other side why do let such an integral part of your team walk?

They let him and Jack walk so they could be in the D12 sweepstakes and eventually Iguadala. He was still a core piece so was JJ.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

No, no.....it goes beyond just this thread. During game threads, you always come to his defense....and there is nothing wrong with that. Some people, educated people, do not believe JT to be a quality 3rd big at this point in his career. He would not be a 20-24 minute rotation guy on a playoff team.....and that s just an opinion since until he's traded or the Kings make the playoffs, we won't know.

I don't "defend" Thompson because I have "love" for him. I "defend" Thompson because:

1. I'm a pedant by nature, and
2. Jason Thompson is the one and only player on the current Kings team whose critics will attribute things to him that are factually untrue, and no one else will call out as bull****. Cousins, Thomas, McLemore, McCallum... even, apparently, Landry, all have their fans who will crawl out of the woodwork to defend them. But Thompson gets called everything but a Child of God, and no one will challenge it. And that annoys me.

If you bothered to pay attention, you would notice that I never "defend" Thompson when people accuse him of whining. I never "defend" Thompson when people point out his tendency to make stupid fouls. I never "defend" Thompson when he makes bad decisions on the court. I never "defend" Thompson about his p***-poor help rotations. I will "defend" him when someone makes a bad pass that goes off his fingers, but he gets blamed for the turnover. I will "defend" him when he gets a pass way late in the shot clock, and then gets blamed for the SCV. And yeah, I will "defend" Thompson when he gets criticized, but his critics can't back up their argument with anything more substantive than "JTSUXLOL~!!"

Thompson is a better-than-average backup big who has been asked to be a starting big. He's not good enough to be a starter, but he keeps getting thrust into that position. And so there seems to be a never-ending litany of people who want to get rid of him, when there's nothing actually wrong with him. My thing is, don't be mad at Thompson for not being good enough to start, blame management for never acquiring anyone good enough to send Thompson to the bench.

 

[dude12]

I don't "defend" Thompson because I have "love" for him. I "defend" Thompson because:

1. I'm a pedant by nature, and
2. Jason Thompson is the one and only player on the current Kings team whose critics will attribute things to him that are factually untrue, and no one else will call out as bull****. Cousins, Thomas, McLemore, McCallum... even, apparently, Landry, all have their fans who will crawl out of the woodwork to defend them. But Thompson gets called everything but a Child of God, and no one will challenge it. And that annoys me.

If you bothered to pay attention, you would notice that I never "defend" Thompson when people accuse him of whining. I never "defend" Thompson when people point out his tendency to make stupid fouls. I never "defend" Thompson when he makes bad decisions on the court. I never "defend" Thompson about his p***-poor help rotations. I will "defend" him when someone makes a bad pass that goes off his fingers, but he gets blamed for the turnover. I will "defend" him when he gets a pass way late in the shot clock, and then gets blamed for the SCV. And yeah, I will "defend" Thompson when he gets criticized, but his critics can't back up their argument with anything more substantive than "JTSUXLOL~!!"

Thompson is a better-than-average backup big who has been asked to be a starting big. He's not good enough to be a starter, but he keeps getting thrust into that position. And so there seems to be a never-ending litany of people who want to get rid of him, when there's nothing actually wrong with him. My thing is, don't be mad at Thompson for not being good enough to start, blame management for never acquiring anyone good enough to send Thompson to the bench.

Fair enough on the defending him but you also point out a lot of his shortcomings as well in your post. Further back in this thread, I said that if the Kings don't acquire another big ( that means I suspect they are going to try to get another guy), then I think they would be better off with an Evans / Landry platoon. I DO think those 2 are better than JT. Both guys have been key pieces on playoff teams. Each one of those 3 guys are average at best defensively. At least Evans and Landry are above average in rebounding and scoring, respectively.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I consider Thompson to be an above average man defender, but a slightly below average help defender. I think that he's a much better offensive player than Evans, and a much better defensive player than Landry. He is a solid but unspectacular rebounder; he doesn't chase down rebounds as hard as Evans, but one thing he does significantly better than Evans is block out the other guy. In just tonight's game, for example, I saw no fewer than five of Evans' rebounds come thanks to Thompson blocking the Wizards out, and giving Evans a clear shot; Thompson is rarely going to get those rebounds, because he's trying to make sure the other guy doesn't get the rebounds, but that's not something that gets acknowledged in the stat sheet.

In other words, just the sort of guy you want coming off the bench.

 

[VF21]

Another JT lover.

Yep. You got me figured out. I have criticized JT repeatedly about his whining and pouting to hide my unrequited love.