I see Theis and TL both being better and more versatile than TT. That doesn't mean TT is bad, he isn't. He'd be more valuable to a team that doesn't have a decent/healthy 5 (Nets and Raptors). The talent spread between TT and the list of 5's potentially available wouldn't be a problem for the Celtics. BUT for the Nets, who are in GFIN mode, TT might make a lot of sense. Dinwiddie does very little for the Nets (small trade exception), moving him and a 2nd might work?I'm not arguing this (Theis and TL both have better DLEBRON numbers than Thompson), I'm referencing DLEBRON to say that Thompson is actually pretty good (his OLEBRON is bad, but trending positively after his slow start) and not a bad defender. I'm not arguing that he is better than Theis or TL.
I've never argued that TimeLord was unplayable. I don't think anyone has. There have been arguments in response to the constant "Why is Thompson getting minutes?" question and the answer is that he's been more consistent than TL at certain things defensively. Again, this isn't a talent argument, it is trying to understand Brad's rationale for the choices he makes. I also agree with the posters who think its wise to see if TL can remain healthy for a significant stretch of time before I'd feel comfortable trading away someone like Thompson.
In the Toronto game, where Theis played 7 minutes, Brad talked about Theis playing a significant number of minutes over the last few seasons, and liking having the option to rest him in that situation. And, of course, TL has had a health issue that has been discussed and which seems to require some load management. So, having Thompson helps to mitigate some of those concerns. I don't know why the condensed schedule is an argument for trading away your big depth when two of your bigs reliably get injured every season.
I just don't really understand a fundamental part of this argument, if you think Thompson is easily replaced by one of the big men you assume will be available at the deadline for essentially nothing, why would any team give you value for Thompson? Why wouldn't the teams that could use Thompson just trade for one of those guys instead? This also ignores the larger context of Theis's contract situation. We have no idea if Theis will return next season, it's not difficult to imagine some team offering him more than the MLE because he is a good player. You have Thompson under control for next season at reasonable value. For the posters that think TL is ready to be a full time, 30 minute a night starter, why wouldn't you trade Theis instead? Isn't he more likely to get you a better piece than Thompson?
But this isn't even a Tristan Thompson issue. The issue for the Celtics is the lack of wing depth once the Celtics decided to say goodbye to Gordon Hayward. If Grant, Semi, Aaron, Romeo had stepped forward and proven to be a high-quality rotational wing this wouldn't be an issue. It was a fine gamble to see if any could be that wing BUT none have, so over the next 2 weeks Danny needs to find a rotational wing/ballhandler. It's going to come with a cost. I'd rather keep the young assets (Romeo, Nesmith, draft picks, full TPE) and move our 3rd best Center.
I also believe Danny can re-sign Theis in the offseason.
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