Video: New Spur Thomas working out pregame
Other than being San Antonio Spurs' Kawhi Leonard's former teammate at San Diego State and coming up from the NBA's D-League, the newest Spur Malcolm Thomas is a bit of an enigma for most Spurs fans.
Aside from that, many Spurs fans might also be curious as to what he could bring on the court for San Antonio.
Check out a glimpse of Thomas working out (via saspursvideos) prior to last night's Spurs-Houston Rockets matchup. One thing that stands out is his leaping ability and wing-span.
Thomas might not be a a big time all star. But wouldn't it be a nice surprise if he turns into a Darrel Arthur type player? What do y'all think?
@zap Body type wise he looks like a Camby or Durant. Of course not at that level. But if he can do what Arthur did for Memphis that would be great.
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Diogu was never going to stick around. As has been mentioned plenty of times, pop's main offseason goal was to improve on the defensive end. A low risk option like bringing Thomas in is exactly what the Spurs need. A young player who is keen to make it in the league, who will quickly learn that for him to stick around he will need to bring energy at the defensive end. Lets be honest, he won't be the next Timmy but I forecast him becoming a more than useful NBA role player.
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With the short season, Thomas will have to prove himself in practice. He needs to earn Pop's trust but the issue is he might be too raw. Love his wing span and youth but he is still undersized to address the lack of bigs for the SAS
Forget Diogu!! He's gone. it's time to move on this seems like a practical fit anyway. Malcolm Thomas reputably has what you need to play on this team. Defense. Maybe playing alongside Kawhi again will motivate him moreso to make the team.
How long will Malcolm Thomas last, 2, 3 games? Ike Diogu failed. After 2 appearances he was waived. No practice sessions conducted. What is the spurs looking for? He was given the chance to play, garbage time. James Anderson has a fat egg again against the rockets but he continues to be a spur. Really, the spurs is fun of "small" guys. It should be him being waived NOT Dioogu. Diogu was not given his day in court. The coaching staff ignored him. He could have helped the interior defense. But no, the spurs preffered a smaller Thomas. Beware Thomas, you may NOT last.
@rtesoro440 how do you know the coaches ignored ike? how do you know he didnt get a chance in any practices.
we know little about this kid, other then he has been playing some great defense in the Dleague. if he can make a name for himself in a bruce bowen type way then he is golden and if not then he is gone.
anderson has played 37 nba games, thats not even half a regular season, he is a 1st rounder just out of college, give the kid a chance, he obviously has the talent, it just seems he is to nervous and isnt comfortable.
and is it just me or is that sean marks working this kid out????
Coach Pops said so; that the team was busy that practice is impractical. Have you seen any report that Diogu was treated like Leonard, Thomas or Anderson? Diogu is also young and big. He has a future only if given the chance. He could have develop into something to defend the interior. Can Anderson do it? I doubt very much.
@rtesoro440 this kid is 6'9", Ike is 6'9". The only difference, this kids got longer arms and Ike has a bigger gut. The spurs want/need defense and the bottom line, that's not Ike.
Hey, they are not looking for somebody to replace TD only to help in the interior defense where Blair and Splitter are not doing so.
Not anger friend, disappointment. The spurs were looking for a big man, interior defense. They got one in Diogu and they let him go.
@spursfan2120@rtesoro440 ike is 28 yrs old, had a knee injury and could barely crack the rotations of the warriors, the raptors, indiana, portland, clippers, or sactown. none of those teams where exactly stacked with great interior talent yet he played a total of 223 games in his career. thats an average of 44.5 games a season played. why would you think that after 5+ seasons in the league and at 28 and a half years old he would all of a sudden have a change of heart, and playing style and start to defend. he was nothing more then 6 fouls for the inevitable hack-a-XXXXXX strategy. they can get anyone to do that.
@rtesoro440@JohnAbney Diogu is not young hes 28 or 29 thats not old but at that age in the NBA you should be in your prime. I agree they need a interior defender but Diogu was not that. Anderson will be much better at doing what he does witch is shooting and scoring from the peremiter that diogu would ever dream about being an interior defender. If you ever watched diogu in New Orleans or LA you would know he is just a decent inside scorer who can shoot alright and plays almost no D. Thomas if he doesn't work out he can go back to the D-league but lets be real Diogu wasn't going to help this team either.
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@rtesoro440 @JohnAbney. Got a lot of anger rtesoro. One thing thwart I saw is diogu didn't have that go get it attitude. That's one thing you can't teach.
Hired to do what? Has he given time to develop players like Diogu? He didi it to Leonard, Anderson and now Thomas.
@rtesoro440 Diogu was not a good defender and would not have helped Matt Bonner could play better D than him. The spurs might as well let him go because he would not have been a factor. I don't think it would have been wise to release James Anderson, the kids got potential you have to give him a chance he is young and was a first round draft pick two years ago and really this is like his rookie year this year since he was injured last year so you have to stick with him for a year or two more. Right now the spurs are just looking for someone to fill that last roster spot. You already knew what Diogu was going to give (almot nothing). You never know maybe the spurs will get lucky on Thomas and he can contribute, I doubt it but its worth a shot over Diogu.
Not good defender? How was it established that Diogu has no defense? He was used for 2 minutes and garbage time. Anderson has been a spur for 2 years. Has he showed improvement? No but always an alibi that he was injured in hias rookie year. Coach Pops said there were no practice sessions so how in the world the coaching staff knew Diogu has no defense? If at all, Anderson should be in the d-league. How long will they keep Thomas?
@rtesoro440@spursfan2120 the spurs coaches didnt have to watch him for a season to see he plays no defense, the guy has a TOTAL of 65 blocks in his 7 yr nba career. he has a TOTAL of 36 steals in his career. go read every nba observers words, like say hollinger. the guy has almost as many turnovers and fouls combined as he does total rebounds. maybe we should have kept him, i mean he is a 50% 3 point shooter and the spurs love 3 point shooters. but then he does have about twice as many turnovers as blocks and steals combined, or you could say he has almost 3 times as many turnovers and assists. the guy has got 8 total assists in his last 100 games.
