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According to another website, we are close to signing Etan Thomas to a 1 year contract.

I just read that on twitter also.

I see he only played in 23 games last year, was he injured?

Etan had some rotation issues with OKC and they went with some of their youth to provided depth at the 4/5. Etan had ACL surgery within the last two years and had some issues with that last season.

I hope he can stay healthy with us and at this point I guess it's a good signing.

If I remember right, he also missed time with some heart concerns. If healthy he can play D.

Eh, at least he's better than Collins.

Exactly, i rather have him as an option at the end of the bench over Collins.

Healthy he's very useful. Way better than Zaza.

Etan's always got something wrong. He's also had rib injuries. But the biggest problem he has are his hands. He's got good low post moves, but when you can't hold onto the ball, there's a problem. His ball skills are awful, and he's a black hole - will not and maybe cannot pass. Also, for a strong physical player, he's surprisingly clueless on setting picks - displaying a low BBIQ. He has good shot-blocking instincts, but he's got below average height and length for a C. A better poet than NBA player.

At that point on the bench you are looking for ability to play a role more than all around game. For that spot, you are looking for defense and rebounding. You just have to be competent enough at other aspects to get on the court (sorry Mario).

Also to defend Zaza he should be looked at for toughness, rebounding and defensive effort (including leaning on the opposing bigs). It's only when he tries to overreach and do stuff on the offensive end beyond his skills that the shortcomings in his game really start coming out. Zaza trying to create his own shot of the dribble is a hard thing to watch, indeed.

Good deal for the Hawks. If ET is healthy, he will make PF's and small centers work, he's also a decent shot-blocker. Not starter-minutes worthy, but good for energy and fouls.

Etan Thomas is a 6'10 C/PF who, when healthy, can defend both positions effectively.

Skyhawk1 wrote:Healthy he's very useful. Way better than Zaza.

You're kidding me. As a Wizards fan I consider him the worst player who played on their squad during my lifetime. There are certain players in the league where you think when their contract expires they will never play in the NBA ever again. Eddie Curry comes to mind same with Adam Morrison and Deshawn Stevenson. However, I really thought that Etan Thomas was at the top of the list. Contract aside he's pretty much been one of the most horrible NBA players over the last 6 seasons. Over the last 6 years he's played 232 of 492 possible games (47%) and his PER has been 11.84, which is terrible considering PER ratings cater to bigmen.

He's too short to effectively guard centers and he's laterally slower than most centers anyways so he certainly doesn't have the footspeed to keep up with any PF's. He has no post moves, a terrible rebounder for his size, terrible hands, and is probably the worst passing big man in the league. Your only saving grace is that he can't stay healthy so if you can't play you can't suck.

NeZoRiL wrote:Etan Thomas is a 6'10 C/PF who, when healthy, can defend both positions effectively.

No he can't, you have no idea what you're talking about. He has never played PF a minute in his career. He's strictly played center and has never been effective at guarding centers. It doesn't really matter, he'll never play anyways because he'll hurt an abdominal muscle or something and be out for the season.

As bad as Collins, Zaza and Thomas are, I hope they can split those 48 minutes and Horford can play the 4 so he is not burdened with the task of defending bigger, stronger and taller players.