Image via WikipediaBuilding off their investment of a first round pick sent to Chicago to acquire him, the Bobcats signed Tyrus Thomas to a five-year, $40 million contract.Thomas was a restricted free agent who I thought would benefit from the unique nature of the 2010 summer. This is a great deal for him financially, though it isn't the type of obscene money I once thought might be possible.
The trajectory of his career has always been one that I compare with Rudy Gay. They were both members of the 2006 Draft class and some of Gay's flaws were exposed in his sophomore season at UConn, while Thomas had a meteoric rise during his one and done run at LSU.
The numbers Thomas posted for the Bulls were never horrific by any means, typically averaging 13 points and about nine boards and at least two blocks per 36 minutes.
With the Bobcats, he played just 25 games and a total of 542 minutes, but his PER, usage and total rebound percentage were career highs.
He needs to be a finisher at the rim in order to be effective offensively, but he also needs lobs and dishes to get those, so they happen with not nearly enough frequency for how much he likes to take shots. His jumper isn't awful by any stretch, but it would be better utilized as something to offset the dunk instead of vice versa.
Defensively, Thomas is a special shotblocker and he is a top-10 player in terms of block percentage. He is typically committed to doing the non-glamorous aspects of defending and does a good job of it. He also is capable of defending both power forwards and small forwards.
He is an ideal player to bring off the bench because of his energy and the probability that he will be better than his counterpart also coming off the bench. Most teams would prefer, however, to have a player of Thomas' level of ability be on a rookie contract instead of making high seven-figures in each of the next five seasons.
Grade for Bobcats: B-
The Suns were looking for more affordable replacements to Amar'e Stoudemire this summer and I thought he would be a good fit for the team. Given the possibility of receiving one more decent sized contract when this new one is up before phasing into veteran minimum status, taking a little less money to showcase himself with an elite passing point guard might have been a prudent gamble.
Ultimately, $40 million over five seasons is a good deal for a player who was traded away because his former team preferred cap space over the risk of him taking the qualifying offer. The fact that Chicago was able to receive a future first for him, despite being so close to restricted free agency did reveal how much Charlotte liked him and the good possibility that he would be retained.
Grade for Thomas: A-
http://bobcats.realgm.com/articles/44/20100714/grading_the_deal_bobcats_keep_tyrus_thomas/
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