Official Tyrus Thomas Welcome Thread

[BigSlam]

Welcome young fella!

We have been craving a legit back up PF all season - let's hope you are the one and that you can help take us to the promised land. We need you to be a monster on the boards, we need you to play accountable D, we need you to work inside out not outside in and most of all, we need you to come in with an open mind and a willingness to listen and learn.

Go get yours!

P.S. It's not too late to have an impact on the Hammers!

[insfo]

Fingers crossed .. for him and you guys. Hope it works out good for both!

[BigSlam]

Hey - maybe we can look at this as a do over for the Ammo **** up?

[Sinistar6]

What a deal for you guys! Gratz.

Tyrus still has as much upside as anyone. If larry can teach him some Bball IQ you guys have an all-star on your hands.

[ball teacher]

The Bobcats have gotten themselves a really good young talent in Tyrus Thomas. In Chicago he was used incorrectly from the beginning. He's raw as far as post play however he has a nice jumper, he's a underrated passer, he's one of the most athletic big men in basketball, he causes all types of problems for opposing teams on the defensive end of the court, and he is a game changer, and now he has one of the best coaches who can actually teach him the game and give him a good role in Larry Brown. Tyrus can average around 20 and 10 a game. The Bulls wanted him to be a Scottie Pippen small forward type player and Tyrus game is not that even though he was a guard type player in high school before his growth spurt, and he actually grew another inch over the past summer. He makes Charlotte one of the better teams in the east.

[BigSlam]

Some thoughts on the trade from TT:

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_n ... trade.html

(Have you talked to Charlotte people yet?)

"I talked to them. They’re excited to have me. I’m thrilled they’re excited. Today was just more logistics about getting me there in time to play tomorrow. I’m sure tomorrow I’ll sit down with Coach Brown and get into some detail.''

[Magilla_Gorilla]

Congrats - you guys got a hell of a basketball player who is going to blossom under Larry Browns coaching.

[fluffernutter]

I hate TT. Sorry. I do. Another athletic freak with low basketball IQ and little appetite for driving. If he can learn from GWall how to take it to the rim, then maybe. Still. He's the kind of guy straight jocks get homoerotic crushes on when discussing his leaping and blocking ability. Meh. Is he good at BASKETBALL? Now? In the future? I say no. Let the miracles commence.

[BigSlam]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/bobcat ... 57697.html

Asked about Thomas' past, Brown said, "We'll show the kid he's important to us and we really want to help him. Well all have to grow up sometime.''

Thomas' beef with Del Negro was about limited minutes, and that shouldn't be an issue in Charlotte, where Brown has pleaded all season for help at power forward. As general manager Rod Higgins described, "he'll have an opportunity right away.''

[Bassman]

WELCOME MR. THOMAS! We need you, we want you, and if you'll invest in the wisdom and teaching you'll receive from the Master, you will blossom here. Once our centers get healthy, you will become a fixture at PF as our starter, with Diaw becoming our super 6th man.

Let's hope DJ feels more comfortable now that the deadline has passed, and can become more like the player we saw as a rookie, but even better. We need the kid now.

[ohara]

Welcome to the Bobcats Tyrus! Now, show us what you can do. And if you're good as we hope, then please sign an extension so you are not gone after the season! After all, we are investing a 1st in you.

[Walt Cronkite]

Pretty happy about all of this. Gonna miss Good Flip.

[dano81]

Tyrus might do okay in CHA. He'll certainly have better defenders to hide his deficiencies on defense. On offense, it's a different story, he's going to drive you batty. Skiles couldn't get through to him, can Brown?

Good luck TT.

[isidro847]

Skiles isn't on the level of Larry Brown. Either way, TT can blossom under Coach Brown.

[MPM]

Welcome Mr. Thomas. Happy to have grabbed TT...he was a fave trade target of mine the last couple of months. Hate to see Flip go, but..

Anywho - Question to some of the Bulls fans here. I've seen multiple posts about TT's shot selection driving you crazy, but he's shooting 48% this year, which I'd be happy with. What's your take?

[isidro847]

I live in Chicago and watch a ton of bulls games. The 48% this year is because hes taking better shots in limited minutes. The whole "wild shots" thing mostly has to do with over-exited shots taken in the post. He's got little to no post moves. In his first two years, he was working on a jump hook, but seeing as the bulls never let him use it, and lack of big man coach, its disappeared.

[MPM]

I live in Chicago and watch a ton of bulls games. The 48% this year is because hes taking better shots in limited minutes. The whole "wild shots" thing mostly has to do with over-exited shots taken in the post. He's got little to no post moves. In his first two years, he was working on a jump hook, but seeing as the bulls never let him use it, and lack of big man coach, its disappeared.

Much appreciated. Haven't had a chance to see much of him this year, but looking forward to seeing him on the court tomorrow night. I told a friend today that I wouldn't be excited about this trade if LB wasn't our coach. Really hope LB and Charlotte provide greener pastures for TT.

[ball teacher]

Welcome Mr. Thomas. Happy to have grabbed TT...he was a fave trade target of mine the last couple of months. Hate to see Flip go, but..

Anywho - Question to some of the Bulls fans here. I've seen multiple posts about TT's shot selection driving you crazy, but he's shooting 48% this year, which I'd be happy with. What's your take?

Tyrus has a nice mid range jumper. The problem was Tyrus wasn't truly groomed by the Bulls to play to his strengths. You'd see Tyrus positioned near the three point line in the far corner as a way to not involve him in the offense, yet every other Bulls big men would run the pick and roll or be near the rim, he would even be used as a SF at times. it seems that the Bulls organisaton didn't want Tyrus to succeed this year to justify letting him go in order to go after a free agent. With a set role offensively, with real coaching, Tyrus will blossom. Any mistake Tyrus would make, the coach would automatically yank him out of the game, while others would be permitted to play through the mistakes. Tyrus isn't perfect, but again, he never had a real coach to teach him the pro game. Larry Brown is the perfect teacher and with Tyrus only being 23 years old and still learning the game this is the perfect situation for him. The casual Bulls fan may not agree with me, but I have been telling Bulls fans for over a year Tyrus would get a raw deal in Chicago and he'd be sent away. So I'm not surprised, but it was the best thing for him to get out of there.

[Fred Williamson]

I hate TT. Sorry. I do. Another athletic freak with low basketball IQ and little appetite for driving. If he can learn from GWall how to take it to the rim, then maybe. Still. He's the kind of guy straight jocks get homoerotic crushes on when discussing his leaping and blocking ability. Meh. Is he good at BASKETBALL? Now? In the future? I say no. Let the miracles commence.

But he's a LB type player!!!!

[BrooklynBulls]

Tyrus has a nice mid range jumper.

A mediocre mid range jumper.

The problem was Tyrus wasn't truly groomed by the Bulls to play to his strengths. You'd see Tyrus positioned near the three point line in the far corner as a way to not involve him in the offense, yet every other Bulls big men would run the pick and roll or be near the rim, he would even be used as a SF at times.

Tyrus was extremely sparingly used at SF, we're talking probably 150 minutes over his 3.5 years here. He does run the pick and roll. That thing where he stands at 20 feet and looks disinterested is of his own invention.


I honestly don't know why ball teacher thinks we wanted him to be an SF. We badly wanted him to play inside, he would consistently refuse to do so.

If you care, I can provide a scouting report on Tyrus.

Let's start off with the good:

1- Extremely fleet-footed. Did not look slow on the perimeter guarding LeBron. That says something. He's not just a leaper, he is quicker than most starting SFs.

2- Great length, leaping ability, and timing for shotblocks. He's going to scare a few people into not driving. He will, however, goaltend shots that might have missed.

3- Good rebounder. Has improved on the defensive rebounding aspect of things as well. Has improved his boxing out, but is still a work in progress.

4- Very good FT shooter. A consistent stroke, and he'll get to the line a lot.

5- An ok midrange jumper. For a 24 year old PF, it's not too bad. His selection of when to use it is what needs work.

6- Sees the court well, and has an ok handle. Again, it is not his ability that can turn this into a bad thing, but his decision-making. His belief in his handle and passing abilities leads to a lot of homerun attempts that turn into double plays.

The bad things:

1- Undisciplined on defense. Will leave his man too often to help. To his credit, has improved in this facet.

2- Is too weak to defend, or play in, the post. Has a (not very good) right hook, but no counters.

3- He is the worst 4 I've ever seen at making contested layups, floaters, hooks, anything that is not a dunk. But he can dunk a lot of the time.

4- Will get bored, unfocused, and do some of the dumbest **** you've ever seen. It will make you gasp with incredulity.

5- No left hand to speak of.

6- General decision-making. Will shoot early in the clock from 20 feet. Will charge in to drive and shoot a ball so badly it doesn't even hit backboard. Will take iffy shots in the clutch if he gets the ball. Will run a fastbreak 1 on 3 hoping to get a bailout foul. Will pass to get an assist, and not just to make a good pass.


The good news is that a lot of these bad things do not refer to skillset. It's not that he's limited and that he can't do a lot of things out there. His biggest limits here are his inside finishing ability and lack of ambidexterous post moves. Which a lot of guys don't really have. He's got pretty much everything else one would need to be absolutely awesome. He's nearly got Kirilenko's skillset, but without Kirilenko's mindset.

The bad news is that he still hasn't gotten it. He believes he's better than he is, he has trouble staying integrated on offense, he will disregard coaching to do his own thing. His jumper also tends to be VERY streaky. If LB irons that out of him, you're going to get a fantastic player at a low price.

However, I, like most Bulls fans, do not believe it will happen. Not anytime soon, anyway.