Tyrus Thomas, SMALL Forward.....

[Veteran_Picksetter]

Maybe this isn't a bad idea.

1. We are likely stuck with his contract.

2. He has lobbied to play the 3-spot, according to something I read or saw.

3. Bonnell speculates he is 15 pounds lighter this year, and Tyrus was never thick to begin with.

4. It gives room to play White and Biyombo.

5. Byron Mullens and DJ White can hit face up shots from 20 feet. Spread them out and allow Tyrus to post up on some SF's.

6. Tyrus can guard 3-men. He has the physical potential to shut many of them down.

7. Our other 3-men: Derrick Brown is probably a career backup, and Corey Maggette is too old to be part of the plan.

Thoughts??

[superb1]

That was the problem. he had problems playing the 3 effectively. Smaller guards were blowing pass him. It would be ideal though.

[polarcat]

At this point in the season, I'd be down for whatever experiments we can do to truly seal the coffin on whether or not T2 is part of our future plans. His contract is on the books until 2015 and it only increases over the next few years up to $9+ M in '14-'15. Najera comes off the books after this season, but we still have 3 albatross contracts in Thomas, Diop & Carroll. Diop and Carroll come off next season, but Thomas is on the hook for 3 years. Do what ya have to do to cover all of your bases with Thomas so that when we decide to trade or amnesty him, we can rest safely knowing that we tried our best. After this year, this will be his 6th year and the "ceiling" and "potential" labels should be thrown out the window. As for the thought of Thomas actually at SF, I don't know if he can score the way a wing should. Since this year is shot anyway, we can try whatever, but I don't think he can carry the responsibility of a SF and we'd be better off letting him be someone else's problem.

[spectre]

Tyrus can't guard the quicker SFs.

Has anyone noticed whether we have run any plays offensively for Tyrus this year? I've just started looking for it, but I've not seen us do anything to try and set him up one time other than just throwing it to him in rotation.

Honestly I've not seen us run plays for many guys this year. Mostly it's throw it to someone and let them go 1 v 1.

[dav7z]

ever game i look at his box score and it sucks. Hes much to slow to play the three. Have no idea what to with him but cut him . Then we in the Love , Lopez . biding wars.

[spectre]

He seems very "blah". He doesn't look particularly happy out there. Maybe it's because he's an afterthought on the offense?

Since our investment in him is so high why not have some sets that will get him an easy basket or two?

[DY_nasty]

He's still getting his touches. He just can't make the same shots he did last year. Also, he seems to want to do too much whenever he does get the ball now. I wish he'd stop playing like he's got so much to prove and just be consistent and play within himself.

That doesn't mean trying to take someone off the dribble from 20 ft out or trying to back down people who are twice his size.

[spectre]

He's still getting his touches. He just can't make the same shots he did last year. Also, he seems to want to do too much whenever he does get the ball now. I wish he'd stop playing like he's got so much to prove and just be consistent and play within himself.

That doesn't mean trying to take someone off the dribble from 20 ft out or trying to back down people who are twice his size.

Yeah, but the touches he's getting are usually 15-20 ft out, which ends in a semi-contested jump shot that may or may not go in. He's never in P&R situations or anything in the paint. I realize the thread's name...but it just seems to me that he's an afterthought in our "offense". For his contract I'd like for him to be more than that (as I imagine the FO would).

Since it isn't just him I'll default to my fallback reason...the coach's rotations AND his offensive schemes are whacked. I'm starting to think Silas is a bad choice for such a young team...they seem to be learning way too many bad habits.

Or at least he's not having any success whatsoever in getting those bad habits out of our guys.

[Veteran_Picksetter]

Tyrus CAN'T guard quicker 3's? Or he just needs more motivation in general? Or PRACTICE at defending the 3? I've seen him stop LeBron James from making a move on the wing. Of course, one play doesn't make a player. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I think he has it in him.

I'm just trying to figure out how to make his crappy contract work for us.

If you DO try Thomas at SF, spot up Mullens on the Wing, thus drawing out the opposing Center, and see what Tyrus can do posting up a SF.......

[DY_nasty]

Tyrus CAN'T guard quicker 3's? Or he just needs more motivation in general? Or PRACTICE at defending the 3? I've seen him stop LeBron James from making a move on the wing. Of course, one play doesn't make a player. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I think he has it in him.

I'm just trying to figure out how to make his crappy contract work for us.

If you DO try Thomas at SF, spot up Mullens on the Wing, thus drawing out the opposing Center, and see what Tyrus can do posting up a SF.......
Tyrus would rather take a jumper most of the time. He's absolutely terrible for spacing because he can't slash, he doesn't have the range, and he loves to not pass it. IMO he's worse than Mullens when it comes to passing.

[nazsquad]

T Time at the 3 is a bad idea. Here's a few reasons why.

1) He isnt smart enough. Playing the 3, you catch the ball at the three point line. What to do next requires too much thinking. (There are too many options... whether to drive, shoot, pass, etc). He doesnt have the ability to grasp plays. Tyrus is best when he gets the ball in the post. There are a limited amount of options he can choose from.
2) He has no handles. Cant run a pick and roll with him. He cant really dribble from the wing to the basket.
3) Defensively, the 3 will limit his rebounds and blocks.

[JGib23]

My guess is they keep him through next season and then amnesty his sorry ass when Diop and Carrolls contracts nd and we have the cap space to make a run at a free agent or resign our own players and avoid the lux tax.

Tyrus sucks and his contract is worse. He's an 8th or 9th player on a playoff team and deserves that type of money.

[superb1]

T Time at the 3 is a bad idea. Here's a few reasons why.

1) He isnt smart enough. Playing the 3, you catch the ball at the three point line. What to do next requires too much thinking. (There are too many options... whether to drive, shoot, pass, etc). He doesnt have the ability to grasp plays. Tyrus is best when he gets the ball in the post. There are a limited amount of options he can choose from.
2) He has no handles. Cant run a pick and roll with him. He cant really dribble from the wing to the basket.
3) Defensively, the 3 will limit his rebounds and blocks.

"I'm not dumb athlete" pouts Tyrus

[ND22]

Yeah, but the touches he's getting are usually 15-20 ft out, which ends in a semi-contested jump shot that may or may not go in. He's never in P&R situations or anything in the paint. I realize the thread's name...but it just seems to me that he's an afterthought in our "offense". For his contract I'd like for him to be more than that (as I imagine the FO would).

Since it isn't just him I'll default to my fallback reason...the coach's rotations AND his offensive schemes are whacked. I'm starting to think Silas is a bad choice for such a young team...they seem to be learning way too many bad habits.

Or at least he's not having any success whatsoever in getting those bad habits out of our guys.

The lack of P&R opportunities surprises me, since I think a more athletic big like Thomas would flourish in such a situation. Maybe Silas doesn't want him doing it. Maybe he sucks. Maybe both. But at least give it a shot, it can't hurt the team anymore.

[itsbcbaby]

UPS is clearly the better option over Tyrus at the 3 with Maggette out. Aside from his horrendous FT shooting UPS has been pretty consistent in Maggette's absence.

[Veteran_Picksetter]

UPS is clearly the better option over Tyrus at the 3 with Maggette out. Aside from his horrendous FT shooting UPS has been pretty consistent in Maggette's absence.

With that said, what the heck do we do with Tyrus's ridiculous contract??

[SWedd523]

We amnesty it

[Demon DeaCat]

UPS is a back up player on a minimum salary. TT is making $8 mil a year. The choice is obvious. We play TT. We're not playing to win anyway so who cares if TT is out of position. With what we've invested in him it doesn't make sense to amnesty him unless there's a FA we need to sign right away, nor does it make sense to sit him on the bench behind UPS. I say we get him on the court as much as possible in hopes that he gets some confidence and at least gets his game back to where it was last year before he got hurt.