So that you new guys know, it is an unwritten rule during these drafts not to talk about players that haven't been drafted or picked.
Fair enough, makes sense.
I could easily see people trying to intentionally play down a players value to cause them to fall in the draft. Or on the other hand, talk up a players value, tricking someone else into drafting a player too soon.
A little underhanded I suppose.
The tricky thing about playing down a player's value is that eventually, you might end up having to defend them. So if you play down a player's value (like for instance, if this draft were competitive, and I faced the Sixers in the first round of the playoffs with a team built around Kyrie Irving as its best player, I'd be pretty screwed.*
*For those new or forgetful, I dramatically played up Jrue Holiday's seemingly superman-like ability to defend Kyrie Irving this past summer in the CB Draft.
Then you better hold on to Tristian Thompson....
I'm a hundred percent sincere on Thompson. I think he's got a real chance at being a 16 and 10 guy on a good team, dirty-work kinda guy. I don't think he's got a chance to be a top 3 positional guy or anything, at least without a jumpshot that gets above 40% from 15 feet.
But look at this:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=thomptr01&y1=2013&p2=farieke01&y2=2013
Pretty close.
Very close but Faried has the FG% and an image of a workhouse and a flat out animal that puts him further over the top
Not to mention the stats being compared have no context. Faried is on a contender doing what he is doing, Thompson is on one of the worst teams in the league. Faried is one of the more limited offensive players and worse defensive players in the league and yet Thompson numbers are worse in those areas.
They are both young and have time to develop but I think Thompson is getting a bit of Jeff Green hype here. Big numbers on a bad team doesn't always equate to the same thing when put on good teams.
The numbers are close though.
Absolutely fair. Its too early to give the verdict on either guy, and caution is completely warranted when giving praise to any player on a rebuilding team.
The stats also don't really tell the whole story for Thompson there though either. If you look at how he's stepped up after (undrafted player) went down, his numbers are actually better scoring-wise (52.6% from the field, 55.5 TS%, 14.9 pts).
Thompson is getting his points through hustle, tough offensive rebounding, and elite level finishing around the rim. His defense and rebounding are both looking very, very good considering his age, and there is cause to think it can get better.
That's why I'm optimistic. He's finally caught his wave, so now he's riding it. That's why I'm hopeful. Can he do it on a contender? Who knows.