Pistons “zeroed in on” Tristan Thompson, who canceled other workouts after working out for Detroit
With top prospects in New York Thursday for media and service responsibilities, a person familiar with the draft discussions said the Pistons appear to have zeroed in on Texas small forward Tristan Thompson with the eighth pick. Thompson canceled other scheduled workouts after working out for the Pistons with five other players Wednesday.
Didn’t we hear the same thing about Kawhi Leonard yesterday? I’ll repeat what I wrote then:
Although I certainly can’t rule out the Pistons promising Kawhi Leonard – Las Vegas certainly believes there’s a great chance the Pistons draft him – I’d be pretty surprised if they did. It seems like Woj’s sources are speculating just because Leonard canceled his Milwaukee visit, which is fine, but Leonard could’ve canceled that visit for many reasons (visiting another team Wednesday, needing rest, avoiding working out against another player the Bucks’ have in that day, getting a promise from another team coincidentally after he worked out in Detroit, deciding he’d prefer not to play in Milwaukee, etc.)
Ignore the part about Vegas, change Milwaukee to other NBA team(s), and I basically feel the same way about this news.
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Jun 22, 2011 • 12:04 pm
by Sean
One significant difference is that whereas Ken Berger uses the canceled workout to corroborate his info about Pistons “zeroing in” on Tristan Thompson, Woj used canceled workout to speculate about Leonard possibly getting a promise from DET. And that report was even more dubious due to the fact that it didn’t make sense for them to make a promise before their big workout with Biyombo, Thompson and Morris.
Jun 22, 2011 • 12:11 pm
by RandomGuy313
JoeD has options..
If Kawhi, Kemba and Biyombo are at 8..it will be a tough call but I would pursue the trade with the Rockets to move back. Hope that Tristan drops to 14 or pick Markieff.
If Kawhi is gone select Kemba, if Kemba is gone select between Tristan and Biyombo
Jun 22, 2011 • 12:21 pm
by dan
I’d rather have tristan than Kawhi, but I see a lot of Chris Wilcox/tyrus thomas in tristan thompson
If Joe Likes tristan as much as Bismack or Kemba, I’d take the Rocket’s 14 and 23 trade.
Jun 22, 2011 • 3:16 pm
by Alan
I can see some similarities. All three are athletic freaks. To be fair, Wilcox never learned D and that is the best part of Thompson’g game. I don’t know what will become of Thompson but have you heard him speak? He’s a solid young man and in that way differs from Thomas who is a complete headcase.
Jun 22, 2011 • 12:38 pm
by Dan
I’m a huge Pistons fan and attended the University of Texas, so I’m a big Tristan fan as well and watched every game he played last year. Having said that I’m really excited about this prospect and hope this is true, b/c TT is a true gym rat in every sense of the word, he wants to be great and nobody works harder than he does. He would workout and practice after wins and losses last year and they had to keep the gym open so he could practice. Kid is a monster on the glass and has impeccable timing in order to block shots. Would love for him to be paired w/ Greg.
Jun 22, 2011 • 12:52 pm
by Laser
i don’t think i’d mind that rockets trade, depending on who’s likely to be available at 14. There’s less certainty than ever that 14 is going to be significantly worse than 8, and I’d love to add three reasonably promising players to address our holes at the point, on the wing, and down low. There’s no reason we can’t draft three good players at 14, 23 and 33.
Jun 23, 2011 • 8:01 am
by tarsier
True, but can we find minutes for all three?
Jun 22, 2011 • 1:27 pm
by Marvin Jones
Picking Thompson makes no sense, he’s a little under 6’9 and weighs only 227 lbs, forget the wingspan he’ll be just like Amir, too light to defend the position and he has no offensive game to speak of. If you’re going to do that you would be better off drafting Biyombo who is taller, has a longer wingspan and is 20 lbs heavier, at least he has the body to bang down low
Jun 22, 2011 • 2:10 pm
by rob
Agree 100%. I’ll be furious if we use the 8th pick on a player identical to one we drafted 57th six years ago and traded for a 2nd round pick. We could’ve just kept Amir.
This will end Joe’s career here if we he makes this pick. Not tomorrow, or next season, but in a year or two when he proves nothing more than a bench player, and we are set back 4 yrs because of it, THEN this will be waht costs Joe his job.
Jun 22, 2011 • 1:45 pm
by rick
thought the Pistons had three picks this year can someone clarify this?
Jun 22, 2011 • 2:20 pm
by I can't take it anymore
Correct. Number 8 and 2 second rounders.
There is talk of trading down with Houston and getting more picks.
Jun 22, 2011 • 2:19 pm
by I can't take it anymore
TT would be slick at 14. Not at 8.
Jun 22, 2011 • 2:45 pm
by MrHappyMushroom
If that Houston trade is really on the table, it’s hard to see it not being the move to make, (unless there is a clear internal sense that one of the big options is significantly better than the other).
If the Pistons were to move to 14, doesn’t there seem to be a reasonable chance that one of the following would be available: Biyombo, Thompson, Valanciunas? And if all three are gone, 14 doesn’t seem to early to go with Faried. (From what I read, he seems very Biyombo-esque, with a perhaps lower ceiling, but perhaps less likelihood of being a total bust.) This could mean, essentially, getting someone they’d take at 8 at 14 and then having an additional FRP to land a better second-level PG or big prospect at 23.
Jun 22, 2011 • 2:53 pm
by Reaction
If Kemba and Kawhi are gone by 8 trade down and hope that Biyombo or Jonas is still at 14.
Jun 22, 2011 • 3:57 pm
by tarsier
Jonas at 14? You gotta be kidding me. Even if he misses a season, the Pistons would be lucky to get him at 8. No way he falls 6 more spots.
Jun 22, 2011 • 7:11 pm
by MrHappyMushroom
It’s not likely, but it’s not impossible. There is some talk that the contract issues really might drop him farther than they should. Keep in mind, fourteenth in the draft doesn’t mean the fourteenth most desirable player. I haven’t looked into it, but no doubt there are a few teams in that six to fourteen range that might perceive themselves as having bigger needs, and a few more who just don’t want to wait a year until he comes.
But again, given the the Pistons seem to like Thompson and Bismack a whole lot, that would be three players who could conceivably drop to fourteen, and it only takes one. And as a consolation prize, I suspect there’s a lot to be said for Faried and an extra first round pick.
Jun 23, 2011 • 8:05 am
by tarsier
Fair point. I will just be unimpressed by a lot of GMs if Jonas drops to 14. Like I was by Blair, in fact.
Jun 22, 2011 • 6:07 pm
by Fennis
Please watch the last 30 seconds of this Biyombo workout and then tell me this guy can’t be a factor on offense. He’s an absolute FREAK! Note how easily he gets to the rim.
http://www.nba.com/bobcats/video/2011/06/22/110622biyombohighlights-1741567/index.html
Jun 22, 2011 • 7:14 pm
by MrHappyMushroom
Virtually anyone of his size could do exactly what he’s doing without another player on the court. We know he can jump and would have to assume he could make uncontested layups. (I can, too…) But that’s all this clip shows us.
He may be great, but this film is meaningless for our purposes.
Jun 22, 2011 • 7:09 pm
by balooga999
Don’t think I have ever seen so much posturing before a draft. If you believe reports the Pistons are definitively going to draft Leonard, Tristan, Biyambo, Walker at 8…I guess it’s a 4 for 1 deal. Guarantee all the teams in the association want that one guy they aren’t talking about. Some terrible poker faces out there.