Thomas Robinson potential FA pickup?

[Ilikesports17]

In the thread which asked people to suggest an offseason plan which would sell the most tickets, one poster mentioned Thomas Robinson.

I looked over to the right and there was a thread discussing whether or not Tristan Thompson would get a max contract. These players are so similar. Both were high draft picks, both are elite rebounders and decent defenders. Neither are good offensive players.

I think he could be had for very cheap, and I see no reason why he cant have a Tristan Thompson like impact on a contending team.

I dont see him as a future star or anything but if he could be had for cheap I think he could give you some great rebounding.

What do you guys think? do you like the comparison? Do you think hes an interesting target worth pursuing?

[hpantazo]

Tristan Thompson is far superior to Thomas Robinson. Trob was given plenty of chances in various franchises and just can't prove to be of much use on the floor. Lottery pick busts happen all the time, he is just another example of one. He wouldn't beat out any of the PFs on our roster for playing time.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth #20]

I do appreciate these joke threads, it is good to mix things up, I'll add one to the mix, what do you think about Kendrick Perkins and Demarcus Cousins? Do you like the comparison? Perk and Cousins are very similar players just like Thomas Robinson and Tristan Thompson. If the C's can manage to lock up Perk and Robinson I think 3 straight championships are guaranteed. I mean Thomas Robinson and Tristan Thompson are the same height so they must be equivalent players, I'd say its the best comparison I've seen since Ricky Rubio to Steph Curry. You were right on the money with this comparison thread, my basketball IQ goes up exponentially every time I visit this site for amazingly insightful player comparisons.

[merkins]

Tristan Thompson is far superior to Thomas Robinson. Trob was given plenty of chances in various franchises and just can't prove to be of much use on the floor. Lottery pick busts happen all the time, he is just another example of one. He wouldn't beat out any of the PFs on our roster for playing time.

He may be, but the idea Thompson is a max player is absurd.  Overpaying guys who had a strong playoff showing, playing alongside the league's greatest player and who has MAYBE one elite skill is a recipe for slowing team progress. 

Id rather have Robinson for cheap with the potential for a little upside than a guaranteed failure to perform to contract player in TT.

[danglertx]

I'm too lazy to look it up, but is Thomas Robinson an elite rebounder?  I always viewed him as lower than average for a PF.  And decent defensively?  Tristan and Thomas are in totally different classes defensively from what I remember.  Tristan is pretty good all around and Thomas doesn't try hard.  At least that is my knee jerk reaction of the two. 

[gpap]

In the thread which asked people to suggest an offseason plan which would sell the most tickets, one poster mentioned Thomas Robinson.

I looked over to the right and there was a thread discussing whether or not Tristan Thompson would get a max contract. These players are so similar. Both were high draft picks, both are elite rebounders and decent defenders. Neither are good offensive players.

I think he could be had for very cheap, and I see no reason why he cant have a Tristan Thompson like impact on a contending team.

I dont see him as a future star or anything but if he could be had for cheap I think he could give you some great rebounding.

What do you guys think? do you like the comparison? Do you think hes an interesting target worth pursuing?

Maybe as a back-up. I just hope Ainge is aiming higher than Thomas Robinson. But as a back-up PF, it's not a bad idea.

[hpantazo]

Tristan Thompson is far superior to Thomas Robinson. Trob was given plenty of chances in various franchises and just can't prove to be of much use on the floor. Lottery pick busts happen all the time, he is just another example of one. He wouldn't beat out any of the PFs on our roster for playing time.

He may be, but the idea Thompson is a max player is absurd.  Overpaying guys who had a strong playoff showing, playing alongside the league's greatest player and who has MAYBE one elite skill is a recipe for slowing team progress. 

Id rather have Robinson for cheap with the potential for a little upside than a guaranteed failure to perform to contract player in TT.

I didn't say anything about giving Thomspon the max. We already have Sully, Zeller, and KO, why do we need Thomspon? He's not a center anyways.

Also, why should we take Trob? He sucks. He's a borderline NBA player and we have a bunch of PFs. We need to spend our money and roster spots on something more useful.

[Tr1boy]

Just draft his twin Alexander with the 45th pick.  Cheaper contract. Done

[Ilikesports17]

Wow this got more pushback then I expected

The Thompson comparison is ambitious, Ill agree there. The fact that hes bounced through so many teams is also obviously a big point of concern. However, his per 36 rebound numbers in each of his 3 years in the league are:
10.7,12.7,13.7
Thompsons:
9.8, 10.9,10.5,10.8
his per 36 scoring:
11.4,14,13.9
Thompsons:
12.5, 13.4,13.3, 11.4

I dont think he is a must have or anything, but I think hes a guy who we could take on for cheap (ala Evan Turner) and then potentially get some nice value out of.

I mean Im not going to sacrifice flexibility or the ability to sign a max guy so I can get Thomas frickin Robinson, but I think he could be a nice value pickup for us.

[Geo123]

Just draft his twin Alexander with the 45th pick.  Cheaper contract. Done

Other than going to Kansas they don't have alot in common.  Robinson was productive in college, Alexander was not.  Alexander had issues in college Robinson did not.  Robinson was a better rebounder and shooter than Alexander plus he's bigger/ taller

[crimson_stallion]

If you can get him on the cheap (I mean real cheap - like close to the minimum) then I'd definitely take a gamble on him. 

Robinson is an absolute physical specimen (Draft Express quotes 244 lbs @ 5% body fat, 7'3" wingspan, 8'10" standing reach, 35.5" vertical).

In only his third season (at the age of 23) he's already putting up some pretty nice per-36 numbers:

13.9 points
13.7 rebounds
1.5 assists
1.4 steals
0.9 blocks
48.5% FG
41% Free Throw Rate

Only 55% of his FGA were assisted, so he seems already somewhat capable of creating his own shots.   

Call me crazy, but I don't think we've seen the last of this guy yet.  It's well known that bigs tend to develop slowly in the NBA, and if you look at DeAndre Jordan his Per 36 numbers really weren't any better than Robinson's in his third year (10 points, 10 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 2.5 blocks).

In fact it really wasn't until his 6th season that actually put up good enough stats to raise any eyebrows.

Neither guy is known for their BBIQ, so it wouldn't surprise me if Robinson takes a similar amount of time to develop - but it's also worth noting that Robinson hasn't gotten a lot of opportunity either (has never averaged more than 18 MPG for any team) so his development probably will take a bit longer than guys who get a lot of minutes from the get go.

I really think he's worth signing to a small, medium term deal - similar to what we signed Turner too.  Maybe 2 years, at $2.5M a year.  If you can get him for that, it's worth the gamble...especially with Sully and Bass both expiring over the next two off-seasons, having a cheap prospect with upside can't hurt. 

[crimson_stallion]

I'm too lazy to look it up, but is Thomas Robinson an elite rebounder?  I always viewed him as lower than average for a PF.  And decent defensively?  Tristan and Thomas are in totally different classes defensively from what I remember.  Tristan is pretty good all around and Thomas doesn't try hard.  At least that is my knee jerk reaction of the two.

Tristan Thompson has a career average of 10.6 rebounds per 36 minutes, while Robinson's is 12.2 per 36, so Robinson is the better rebounder statistically.  Basically the two average identical offensive rebound numbers (4.3 vs 4.2) but Robinson is a better defensive rebounder (8.0 vs 6.3)

In terms of defense, Thompson ranks 60/73 among active centers with a Defensive RPM of -0.42, while Robinson ranks 59/80 among active power forwards with a Defensive RPM of -0.18, so statistically Robinson is also a slightly better defensive player both overall, and relative to others at his position.

Thompson has averaged 12.7 points per 36 for his career on 49% shooting, while Robinson has averaged 12.9 points per 36 on 46% shooting, so Thompson looks to be a slightly better offensive player.   

Both players have averaged 0.9 blocks per 36 for their career, but Robinson has averaged more steals (1.3) than Thompson (0.7). 

Similar turnover numbers per 36, with Robinson averaging 2.7 and Thompson averaging 2.3 (per 36). 

Both players have shot the same percentage for their careers from beyond 16 feet and from within 3 feet,  Thompson has shot significantly better from 3-16 feet.

Both players do a good job of getting to the line (43% FTR for Thompson, 36% for Robinson) and both shoot a similar percentage there (64% for Thompson, 60% for Robinson). 

All things considered this comparison by the O.P. actually isn't that out of this world.  VERY similar statistical profile for both players pretty much across the board with the exception one or two areas (midrange jumper in Thompson's favor, defensive rebounding and steals in Robinson's favor)   

[jay]

Thomas Robinson and Bismark Biyombo are exactly the kind of backup bigs we need.  Long arms, good athletes, young, and inexpensive.

[Geo123]

Thomas Robinson and Bismark Biyombo are exactly the kind of backup bigs we need.  Long arms, good athletes, young, and inexpensive.

Just say no to Robinson.  We don't need another PF especially since we may draft one. Biyombo on the other hand wouldn't be a bad pickup but I would rather have Koufos and pay more

[danglertx]

I'm too lazy to look it up, but is Thomas Robinson an elite rebounder?  I always viewed him as lower than average for a PF.  And decent defensively?  Tristan and Thomas are in totally different classes defensively from what I remember.  Tristan is pretty good all around and Thomas doesn't try hard.  At least that is my knee jerk reaction of the two.

Tristan Thompson has a career average of 10.6 rebounds per 36 minutes, while Robinson's is 12.2 per 36, so Robinson is the better rebounder statistically.  Basically the two average identical offensive rebound numbers (4.3 vs 4.2) but Robinson is a better defensive rebounder (8.0 vs 6.3)

In terms of defense, Thompson ranks 60/73 among active centers with a Defensive RPM of -0.42, while Robinson ranks 59/80 among active power forwards with a Defensive RPM of -0.18, so statistically Robinson is also a slightly better defensive player both overall, and relative to others at his position.

Thompson has averaged 12.7 points per 36 for his career on 49% shooting, while Robinson has averaged 12.9 points per 36 on 46% shooting, so Thompson looks to be a slightly better offensive player.   

Both players have averaged 0.9 blocks per 36 for their career, but Robinson has averaged more steals (1.3) than Thompson (0.7). 

Similar turnover numbers per 36, with Robinson averaging 2.7 and Thompson averaging 2.3 (per 36). 

Both players have shot the same percentage for their careers from beyond 16 feet and from within 3 feet,  Thompson has shot significantly better from 3-16 feet.

Both players do a good job of getting to the line (43% FTR for Thompson, 36% for Robinson) and both shoot a similar percentage there (64% for Thompson, 60% for Robinson). 

All things considered this comparison by the O.P. actually isn't that out of this world.  VERY similar statistical profile for both players pretty much across the board with the exception one or two areas (midrange jumper in Thompson's favor, defensive rebounding and steals in Robinson's favor)   

TP for the research.  I question the players these guys are right now though.  I just got done watching Tristan dominate the offensive boards against the Celtics, Hawks, and Warriors, although some of that is due to Lebron getting help from bigs driving and leaving Tristan on over matched smaller guys on the weak side.  Still, I definitely saw desire, hustle, decent defense and some occasional offensive prowess.

The only thing I've ever seen from TRob is occasional mid range jumpshots and other than that he has never stood out.  Interesting numbers though.  Maybe Robinson just hasn't found the right situation yet.