Obviously not for his offense. But it's funny you would mention he's Outlaw without a jumper: he shoots at a .447 FG% and .511 TS% (Outlaw: .443 FG%, .512 TS%). Anyway, he's significantly better than Outlaw in terms of rebounding and shot blocking (5.1 BLK% and 14.2 TRB% as opposed to Outlaw's 2.7 BLK% and 9.4 TRB%).
His shooting percentages might be the same, but that doesn't say anything abot his jump shot. Looking at last season, 45% of his shts were from inside, compared to 19% for Outlaw.
Sure, it's a positive he takes the ball inside. But showing shooting stats doesn't do anything to disprove the description of Thomas as Outlaw without a jump shot. He's not a good shooter. To the topic, I'm not a fan of his at all. I think we cna use a hustle guy like him as our backup PF, but would prefer one with a little something going on between the ears.
I showed that he's about as effective an offensive player in terms of scoring, while being a superior rebounder and shot blocker, which is important since we are talking about the backup 4 spot when Batum comes back.
I think Outlaw is a good reserve, but I'd much rather have Thomas. His rebounding actually gives him similar productive value to Outlaw's scoring ability, plus Thomas actually provides some excellent help defense (and better man defense than Outlaw). Thomas is only a "bust" relative to his draft position...he's actually become a solid player and has real value. If Portland could acquire him for expirings like Outlaw and Blake, great. I can't see why Chicago does that. If it could be expanded, like to an Outlaw/Blake/Bayless/Fernandez for Thomas/Hinrich/Deng deal, I think that would fix a lot of things for Portland. I have no idea if that works by the CBA, though, and it would depend heavily on Chicago wanting to ditch salary.
IIRC Tyrus's attitude has been less then awesome on the Bulls with most of his grouching coming from playing time. I kind of think he will face the same problems here if not more so. I don't know for certain since I don't really follow the Bulls that much. I just remember the sinking feeling I had in my gut when Portland drafted him. I also remember how happy I was when they traded him away. Once again, Portland already has a guy with an inflated sense of his own abilities named Outlaw. I don't think Portland needs another dude like that. If he came with other players who actually filled a Portland need then great. But a trade just for him would be a mistake.
How do we feel about this in light of Oden's unfortunate injury? Would a Tyrus for Blake+Rudy deal merit any consideration (I'd assume a couple weeks down the road when Tyrus returns to the court)?
