RealGM

I read recently that the Sixers were high on Rider's Jason Thompson (see below). But Thompson doesn't appear on any of the mock draft sites. Is there a chance this kid could go in the second round, and if so, is it possible that we could draft a 5 like DeAndre Jordan with our 1st round pick, and STILL get our PF of the future as well with a second round pick (do we even have a 2nd round pick this year)?

The Sixers are rumored to be high on Jason Thompson and are justified in doing so. Thompson is not on many radars because he played for a small school, but he is a senior that should be more NBA ready then other big men in the draft. His draft status will ride a lot on how he does in workouts against other players in the draft and competition he has rarely seen at his four years at Rider.

STChaser

I have no idea what mock drafts you're looking at but nbadraft and DE both have him going late first.

And there is NO shot in hell Jordan falls to us at 16th, NONE.

Thompson would be a great draft pick for the sixers. Jordan well that will never happen.

I don't really listen to anything the Sixers say about certain prospects this time of year, lots of time it's usually just trying to throw teams off.

philly262 wrote:I don't really listen to anything the Sixers say about certain prospects this time of year, lots of time it's usually just trying to throw teams off.

Where did you see anything about the Sixers saying something???

As for this idea of drafting both... I doubt that Jordan in on the board when we pick considering his upside (Dwight Howard) and I doubt Thompson reaches the 2nd round.

Don't the Wolves own our pick this year or was that last season? So many picks have come and gone that I'm confused. Oh wait... the Heat own our pick from the Jason Smith trade, right??

I dont like him for ou future PF, he doesnt have a good post game. His comparison on nab draftnet is Jason Smith. I think he is already on our team

IggyTheBEaST wrote:I dont like him for ou future PF, he doesnt have a good post game. His comparison on nab draftnet is Jason Smith. I think he is already on our team

That Jason Smith comparison is complete B.S. IMO. Their games are nothing alike. Thompson has very good open court handles for a big, Smith doesn't. Thompson can play pretty well with his back to the basket, Smith hasn't shown that yet. Thompson is pretty good moving laterally, Smith is not. They both can shoot the jumper well, but that's not enough to say they are similar players.

I would compare Thompson's style of game with guys like Odom, Bosh, KG and Gasol. No, I'm not saying he's going to be as good as those guys, I just see similar skillsets between them and Thompson.

If Thompson can perform well in workouts against other top level PF's in the draft, then I would have no problems with us getting him with our pick. Forget about him in the 2nd rd though, he won't be there, and if he is, that's a sign that the scouts don't like him and he's being avoided.(otherwise he would never slip that far with the skillset he has and the fact that big are in high demand in the NBA).

lol, if his skillset was similar to bosh kg and gasol, I think he might be a little higher on the draft board

Jordan is an absolute pipedream. And I'll admit I haven't seen much of Thompson, and I'm not about to seriously judge a prospect based on nbadraft.net profiles, so I'll withold a judgement on him. No objections to taking him in the 2nd round, no harm in simply buying one (Kerr?) and giving the kid a shot.

IggyTheBEaST wrote:lol, if his skillset was similar to bosh kg and gasol, I think he might be a little higher on the draft board

I said his "style of play" is similar to those guys (which is usually what these draft sites use to compare a player to someone in the NBA). Thompson is someone who can handle the ball, he can play in the post, he has college distance 3 pt range, he's got a long thin build, etc. That is what I am using to compare him to a young KG, Bosh and Gasol. The main reason Thompson isn't higher on boards is because of the level of competition he faced (the same knock Jason Smith has as a prospect...hey, maybe that's why they compare him to Smith?). Thompson had 2 games vs. other PF prospects ths year and outplayed both.

vs. Kansas State
Beasley - 13 pts (5-11 FG), 10 Reb, 1 assist, 0 blocks, 1 steal
Thompson - 24 pts (9-14 FG), 7 Reb, 3 Assists, 4 Blocks and 2 steals

vs. North Carolina St.
Hickson - 13 pts, 6 reb, 1 assist, 3 blocks and 1 steal
Thompson - 24 pts. 15 reb, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 0 steals

Obviously it's a small sample size and you can't put too much emphasis on it, but it shows that he has the abillity to play with the bigger names. Thompson brings more to the table as a prospect that Jason Smith did and Smith went mid first rd. There is no reason why Thompson can't go as higher as 12-15 if he can put on a good showing in the private workouts. It will also depend on how many of the underclassman stay in the draft.