We STOLE the Bobcats' protected pick in exchange for the #2 pick we used on LMA, traded for Tyrus Thomas. That is, we traded Tyrus for the Bobcats' pick. Tyrus got hurt, then beat out by Taj, then the trade. MJ signed the bonehead for $40M over 5 seasons. They used the amnesty provision on him, and all the morons who are GMs passed on his waiver rights. The fools! Don't they realize his upside? So we could sign him for vet minimum and have him and the pick. Take that, MJ! On a serious note... The guy is 26, but he's a bonehead. He's not been able to stay healthy or earn serious PT since leaving the Bulls. Maybe the Bulls reality distortion field that makes Kirk (who sucked elsewhere) great, and the illusion that Ben Gordon could be a #1 option (but not elsewhere!) can revive his career. He was our full time starting PF before we got Boozer. Worst case is we use vet min and 13th roster spot on him. Best case is he could team up with Nazr and Erik Murphy to back up Mirotic next year, enabling the team to deal Taj for Cap Space.
Few players have the physical gifts to play in the NBA. Tyrus Thomas is one of the few. Of those who have the gifts to play in the NBA, most, but by no means all, "get it." Alas, Tyrus Thomas didn't and apparently still doesn't get it (if he can change his "gets it" status, he'll have a high-paying a NBA job). As a fan, I'm clearly not qualified to determine if Thomas has somehow passed over into the "gets it" column. Net, if Thibodeau and/or Forman is convinced that Thomas has somehow extracted his head from his ass, I'd welcome him back.
He gets it enough to have been our starting PF for a season. At least it seems to me. We got rid of him to create cap space to go after 2 max FAs. As we did with Kurt. He was good enough for Charlotte to give him a nice contract extension, too. Then he got hurt. Looking at the available FAs, we're down to the bottom of the barrel. My suggestion is that Tyrus may be a bonehead, but for vet minimum and compared to the rest, he might be a find.
My vague memory is we got rid of him because an end of the round draft pick Taj Gibson was better than Tyrus right off the bat. I liked Tyrus and wanted so bad for him to make it, but he's better off going somewhere that doesn't require quite the dedication an NBA career requires. I think he'll still make decent money. And maybe he gets his head on straight enough to come back then. But he is NOT Nate Robinson II.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/2009.html Tyrus starts 61 of 79 games, puts up a 15.9 PER. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/2010.html He got hurt in November, missed 4-6 weeks, so Taj started. Tyrus still put up a 16.5 PER for us before being traded. Taj put up a sparkling 13.8 PER for the season. The appearance is that the #29 pick's $1M salary is way less than Tyrus' $3.75M.
We could do worse than TT. I would like Jamison first, but Antoine wants to play extended minutes. It is interesting that he is not signed on with someone yet. As for TT, sure, we can add him. Taj would play some center, or even Boozer, once in a while.
