Lance Thomas

Although Thomas has now managed seven years in the NBA as a defensive-minded combo forward, who has become a decent-enough open shooter in that time, last season was not his best. The 40.7% three-point shooting drew the eye, but there was very little statistical output or impact on the game elsewhere, and the shooting was on a very low volume. That said, Thomas at his best has a end-of-the-rotation role as a Dante Cunningham, Luc Richard Mbah A Moute type, and if he would like to pursue that on a competitive team down the stretch of the season, the Knicks would surely facilitate that in order to save some money on his otherwise oversized contract. The very same Houston Rockets team that we theorised as being a good home for Luol Deng could perhaps find themselves a Deng-lite here.

Lance Thomas
SF/PF, 6’8, 235lbs, 29 years old, 6 years of experience

Had a terrible start to last season in which he seemed to forget where the three-point line was, and in which his signature defence also suffered for a lack of rhythm. Got better throughout the year, injury-related new year blip aside, and was his usual aggressive self on the defensive end again by the end. Thomas also stopped a five year decline in his rebounding rate, although a 7.9% mark is still not good, the fact that he can shoot low volume three-pointers at 44.7% now does not mean he should abandon the offensive glass. Thomas also needs to turn the long twos in threes – sometimes it’s literally just half an inch difference – and be less scared of finishing at the rim. Useful in his role, but it should not be a big role.

Player Plan: Three years and circa. $21.36 million remaining, the last year of which is not guaranteed, Not thrilled with the length of the contract, but the price is OK, and the trade value minimum, so he might as well see it out.

Lance Thomas - After a few stints with the Hornets, Thomas is out of the league once again, cut in order to accommodate Josh Childress. A defensive role player with scant little offense, his hustle and fundamentals will keep him on the fringes, yet his lack of skills will likely keep him out.

19th: - Austin Toros - Lance Thomas, Duke

David McClure was once a member of the Toros, and that probably had something to do with this pick. Fellow Dukie Lance Thomas is capable of defending 3's, 4'5 and 5's, and will do a decent job on 1's and 2's if assigned to them on switches - without putting up many stats to prove it, he's a good and versatile defender. But his lack of stattage applies also to the other end of the court. Thomas is not capable of making a mistake, but nor is he capable of making a basket. He's is a 6'9 power forward who can't score or rebound; he is the slightly smaller version of Jarron Collins. That's fine, of course, but it's not NBA material. Ryan Bowen wasn't NBA material either, of course, and he made it for a decade. But lightning tends not to strike twice.

Lance Thomas

Mike Shasheffski think Lance Thomas can play in the NBA. But he's the only one who does. Thomas is defensively versatile, able to guard both forward spots, the bigger centres, and perform admirably on guards when switching. However, that's about it. He just can't score, he just can't dribble, and he just doesn't rebound. Ryan Bowen got by for many years on much the same skill set, but he shouldn't have done, and nor should Lance Thomas. He'll make money somewhere, but not in the NBA.

And anyway, how do you get Shasheffski from Krzyzewski?