Golden State Warriors: Jason Thompson Brings Grit, Depth
As expected, the Gerald Wallace tenure in Golden State was short-lived.
On Friday afternoon, the Golden State Warriors shipped Wallace to Philadelphia along with cash considerations for power forward Jason Thompson.
The acquisition of Thompson makes the team deeper than it already was. Thompson will be fighting for minutes at power forward and center positions with Marreese Speights, Festus Ezeli and James Michael McAdoo.
In a sense, Warriors fans should be looking at this deal as David Lee for Thompson, who is a much better fit for this team. Thompson provides the Warriors with an athletic big man who can run the floor and a relentless rebounder. There were countless times that Thompson would kill the Warriors on the glass because of his relentless work ethic with the Sacramento Kings.
In the video below, Thompson’s skills were on display in probably his best game of his career, scoring 23 points and grabbing 22 rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers. He exhibited his rebounding skills in the first minute of the game where he battled Blake Griffin on the glass. He tipped the ball three times after an attempted alley-oop by Ben McLemore, eventually ending with a jumper in the lane.
This energy will definitely help the Warriors on a daily basis. The video also shows his willingness to play pick-and-roll basketball and the ability to hit an open jumper, two skills that will help the offense be even more efficient.
One of the few weaknesses of the Warriors last season was offensive rebounding, mostly because their most effective lineup would be to go small. While the small lineup worked for the Warriors, there were times where their opponents would have their way with them on the glass, especially against Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov in the NBA Finals. The addition of Thompson gives the Warriors another rebounder and at 6’11” allows the Warriors to play him at center. The video displays this perfectly.
Last season, the Warriors played Draymond Green at center a lot in their small lineup. Thompson could potentially fill in for Green at the center position and not take away from the athleticism of their small lineup. It would also allow Green to move back to his more comfortable position of power forward. Thompson will probably not be a fixture in the Warriors’ small lineup, but he is another option that can help this team.
Thompson’s numbers do not jump off the page, averaging just over nine points and grabbing seven rebounds per game, but his play is what does. Thompson is a hard-nosed player who is a good defender, persistent rebounder, decent shooter and has a great feel for the game. It is not easy to show these attributes for a losing franchise like the Kings but General Manager Bob Myers definitely saw it and is clearly excited about the deal. If Thompson can bring these same skills to the Warriors, there is no question the team will be better for it.
Thompson will not play a huge role on this team, barring injuries, for the simple fact that they do not need him to. But if he can make the right pass, grab a key rebound or hit an open jumper at the right time, it will make the Warriors that much tougher to defend and game plan for with this new weapon. If he can make the Warriors just a little bit better on both ends of the floor, it can only mean future success for this franchise.