Bringing The Thunder: The JT Thor Thread

[amcoolio]

Between him, Kai, and Bouk its a HUGE offseason for development and depth going into next season.

I think its likely that PJ leaves for more money and they keep Thor and McDaniels, so let's hope Thor develops further

[Goodecharlotte]

I love watching Thor play he gives you everything effort wise and has a lot of potential to improve on both offence and defence. It's great for our future just need Kai to come through now as well

[BigSlam]

After the Memphis game:

As well as he played (Trez), there was one guy in particular that really caught Borrego's eye - J.T. Thor.

"He was the ninth man we had in the rotation and you never know. We tried the other group, the first eight, and I told JT to stay ready. He found his way to impact this game. He's got my full attention right now. I love his length, his size, his instincts, his defensive tenacity. Even the first play I put him in the game they tried a lob and he just deflected it and I think he got a foul on the first play. But he's at least participating on the weak side trying to make a play at the rim, never giving anything easy. I'm looking for that. If he can sustain that, there's minutes there for him, clearly. I thought he played poised, yet aggressive at the same time."

[SWedd523]

After the Memphis game:

As well as he played (Trez), there was one guy in particular that really caught Borrego's eye - J.T. Thor.

"He was the ninth man we had in the rotation and you never know. We tried the other group, the first eight, and I told JT to stay ready. He found his way to impact this game. He's got my full attention right now. I love his length, his size, his instincts, his defensive tenacity. Even the first play I put him in the game they tried a lob and he just deflected it and I think he got a foul on the first play. But he's at least participating on the weak side trying to make a play at the rim, never giving anything easy. I'm looking for that. If he can sustain that, there's minutes there for him, clearly. I thought he played poised, yet aggressive at the same time."

I think we all can agree that Borrego has excelled as a developmental coach. It truly does seem like every player has improved under the new regime and none of the guys (sans maybe PJ) has failed to meet or exceed expectations.

With that said, quotes like this and some of the other recent ones, really makes me question if he's a "forest vs trees" kind of guy who needs to be a 1st chair Assistant instead of the Head Ball Coach.

I know I've been a defender of his for some time now, and I think he still has a lot of his own potential as a coach that needs to be developed, but I'm starting to get the feeling that he spends so much time working on player dev that he drops the ball somewhat on the Xs and Os portion.

Is that more indicative of a weaker crop of assistants or his particular shortcomings as a coach? I'm not sure, but it does make my eyebrows raise to hear him go "wow, he played well". No **** coach! We've all seen the positive impact guys like Thor and Dicky have made since the start of the year. Why is this a revelation to you?

[JDR720]

An older yet good read on JT. Evidently, he grew up in Alaska.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemazzeo/2021/07/23/nba-drafts-youngest-prospect-jt-thor-i-feel-like-my-potential-is-limitless/?sh=2f09456f25c7

[CuseMayne]

Super excited about him. Spent a lot of time last night watching old highlights, the introductory press conference, etc. He looks extremely promising and is still only 19. The measurables, the skillset, and the defensive mentality are all very intriguing. With Martin and McD out, Thor NEEDS to play. I DO NOT care what the developmental plan was for him. There's no better teacher than experience.

[JMAC3]

I like Thor to play like 10-12 mins a night for energy purposes. As of right now, he doesn't do anything on offense at an NBA level and it would be difficult to play him more than that without exposing us on that end of the floor.

[Hornet Mania]

I like Thor to play like 10-12 mins a night for energy purposes. As of right now, he doesn't do anything on offense at an NBA level and it would be difficult to play him more than that without exposing us on that end of the floor.

I agree we should only deploy Thor in small doses. As long as he keeps giving us a flash of production that's enough to keep spoon-feeding him a few minutes a game. He's still 1-2 years away from being a bigger contributor, but I love what I have seen thus far from him. We need guys who relish getting stops to balance out our rotation, that's why I value Thing 1 as well. Thor seems to really give it his all on D and he has been blessed with the mobility and wingspan to make life hell for opponents.

[BigSlam]

Thor or McD.

Who do you move forward with?

Would appear having both is redundant.

[luciano-davidwesley]

Thor or McD.

Who do you move forward with?

Would appear having both is redundant.

Both are still cheap and useful. I see no harm in keeping both and kicking that can down the road a year before making a decision. Injuries happen.

[JDR720]

If JT puts on some weight, he can probably play SF-C.

McDaniels is SF/PF.

So to me, they're different enough to warrant keeping them both and can play together sometimes.

[yosemiteben]

Thor or McD.

Who do you move forward with?

Would appear having both is redundant.

Can't have too many long wings, TOR is finding some success with nothing but those types plus FVV.

[SWedd523]

Thor or McD.

Who do you move forward with?

Would appear having both is redundant.

Thor. I feel like we've given McD enough time to show he's more than a spot minutes player. Unless he's being retained for stupid cheap I see no reason to invest time in him when guys like Thor/Kai/Richards need the opportunity.

[Chapelchilla]

McDaniels is too skinny to hold up so Thor

[HornetJail]

Thor without a doubt. McDaniels' best quality is that he doesn't suck but I hesitate to say he's a good player. He's good insurance to have when Hayward goes down but otherwise I don't really think he's a rotation player on a playoff team yet. He may get there eventually but I'm not particularly impressed with him this year. Thor's defense at age 19 shows a ton more potential than anything Jalen has flashed in 3 years here. Thor being big enough to guard some smaller centers gives him a significant edge imo.

[wilson115]

Just hope the Heat don't pick up JMac and make us look like fools, but count me in with the Thor crowd. Not sure if such a thing as unteachable defensive instincts exist, but I see 10-year guys who don't "get it" on D like young JT does.

Watch on YouTube

[HornetJail]

Just hope the Heat don't pick up JMac and make us look like fools, but count me in with the Thor crowd. Not sure if such a thing as unteachable defensive instincts exist, but I see 10-year guys who don't "get it" on D like young JT does.

Watch on YouTube

i always thought Jalen was a RFA after this season but turns out we've got another year of him. If he gets healthy soon, we'll get a good enough sample size of him with Hayward out.

[JDR720]

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[Hornet Mania]

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Respect to Scottie Lewis for staying strong throughout. The staffer bringing Thor a blanket was priceless

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Scorchin' Thunder