Jason Thompson: “Physical. Tough. Mature.” Aldridge Stopper?

Back on July 31st, Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers turned a trade for Gerald Wallace — David Lee was dealt to the Boston Celtics — into Jason Thompson, a 6’11”, 250-lb power forward/center.

As Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area reported:

“He does a lot of things,” general manager Bob Myers said Friday afternoon. “Good rebounder. Hits the 15-foot jump shot. Good defender. Good post defender. Physical. Tough. Mature. A lot of little things, a little bit like Draymond (Green). He’s great at getting 50-50 balls. He really just competes.

“That may sound like an over-generalization, but that’s important. I watched him play on teams that were struggling, and he gave his effort. That’s why you tell players that people are always watching and you never know where you’re going to end up. I’ve always respected him from afar. He fits exactly into what we’re trying ot build here and sustain, which is talent and work ethic and character.”

The 29-year-old, seven-year NBA veteran Thompson had been traded just two weeks prior from the Sacramento Kings to the Philadelphia 76ers. Back in 2008, he was the 12th pick of that year’s NBA Draft.

Here are some scouting reports on Thompson…

Pre-Draft

Aran Smith of NBADraft.net gave the following impressions of Thompson, who played at Rider University:

Strengths: Post forward with excellent length and versatility … Though he’s already a senior, he has a developing skill set and shows a lot of upside … A late bloomer who despite playing at a mid-major has lottery pick potential … Terrific foot speed allows him to hold his own on the perimeter on both ends of the floor … Has great fluidity and athleticism and inside/outside skills … Good touch on his shot with consistent range out to 12-15 feet … Has some polished post moves including a nice jump hook … A marvelous passer for a 6-10 guy with vision and good decision making. Has a 1:1 a/to ratio, which for a post player is excellent … Rebounds the ball well … Quality defender. A factor as a shot blocker with his quick leaping ability and timing … Can handle the ball in both the half court and full court … Has the ability to face the basket and take bigger players off the dribble … High character guy. Plays with a high motor, great attitude and eager to improve. … Hard worker who has shown steady improvement throughout his college career … Averaging 20 and 10 for his second consecutive season in college …

Weaknesses: Needs to become stronger and tougher inside … He has the frame and ability to play inside but will need to improve on those skills for the next level … He’ll need to improve on his leg strength to better fight for positioning … Must become better at using positioning for rebounds instead of relying strictly on his athleticism over less athletic, smaller players … Playing in a lower level conference makes him a tougher sell. Level of competition has not been great playing at Rider in the MAAC, he’ll have a bigger adjustment in level of competition, thought he has performed very well when facing top level competition … His free throw shooting while solid over his career has trailed off (55%) as a senior …

A more detailed scouting report is available at DraftExpress.

Defense

Tom Ziller of SB Nation pointed out Thompson’s specific ability to defend LaMarcus Aldridge, the San Antonio Spurs‘ prize from the 2015 NBA Free Agency race this summer, which has ignited talk of the Spurs being favored by Vegas oddsmakers over the defending champion Warriors to win the 2016 NBA title:

But the biggest factor here is Thompson’s history of defending a certain Western Conference power forward quite well. Over the past three seasons, Thompson has held new San Antonio Spur LaMarcus Aldridge to 44 percent shooting (88-199) over 11 regular season games. (Aldridge shot 47 percent overall in that time period.) If the Warriors are expecting a battle with the Spurs at some point next postseason, Thompson is a nice tool to use. (J.T. has also had some success marking Blake Griffin, especially as the Clippers star has transitioned to a face-up style.)

Through last December 2014, SacTownRoyalty also praised Thompson’s defense:

Jason Thompson is playing really solid defense. Within 10 feet, he’s holding opponents to a FG% that is 7.9% worse than their averages. JT was a plus defender in this area last season as well, holding opponents to 2.1% worse than their averages, but the improvement this season is significant. This also contributes to the notion that JT has bought into his role. When looking at these stats, it’s also important to remember that JT is regularly drawing the opponent’s best big man.

And last season, Thompson got off to a good start, with Cowbell Kingdom pointing out the following marquee players’ one-on-one performances against Thompson in the first four games of the Kings’ season in which they went 3-1 overall and 2-0 on the road:

• Aldridge – 3-of-9 FG
• Griffin – 3-of-12 FG, 2 TO
• Kenneth Faried – 2-of-5 FG, 1 TO