There were a few analysts who had lottery grades on Thornton Nobody big, just semi-internet-famous dudes
Is it premature to start a Bruce Thornton is the Rockets Franchise Player thread? Maybe we should wait during Summer League after he makes his first bucket there.
Really excited about this pick. At the very least he’ll be a good Aaron Holiday replacement, but he’s got some real upside. here’s a nice breakdown by Dr. Madison
Effort goes a long way but he is every bit as bad a defender as Sheppard is, and likely worse. I like the pick - he has a good chance to be a 15 minute a night guy long term that is an offensive spark, but he is very limited athletically and struggles to defend. He is stronger than Sheppard but he is slower, not near the athlete and his hands aren’t as good.
Well the Spurs and OKC are far better at drafting and player development - so they get the benefit of the doubt. OKC or SA could draft a dry piece of brisket and the thought would be “they must see something”.
honestly I don’t know why anyone would assume otherwise, re rockets having to trade up to get their guy. I mean I don’t have much confidence in Stone, but I don’t think he’s a dumb guy who would trade up without knowing there were other interested teams ahead of him.
Having talent is different from actually capitalizing on it. JR Smith for example was as talented as Kobe but obv fell way short of his talent. I can see where Stone said that as Nix had plus size for a guard and athleticism so yeah he did have a lotto talent esp as he was invited to GLeague Ignite who got lotto talents. Stone got rid of Nux as soon as tanking was done, shows you what his real purpose was on the team.
Spurs arent better at drafting but they are def way better at player development. Spurs the same team that got Keldon Johnson, Joshua Primo and Jeremy Sochan as lotto picks. Wemby, Castle and Harper were layups draftwise they were pretty much consensus picks.
Nah Thornton has 3 inches more wingspan than Reed. Reeds steals are a joke, for every steal he gets he has 3 blown bys getting that steal thats why Udoka benched him. Thornton has a lot of strength he can lean on guys and prevent them from coming in the paint. Thornton is very physical, no issues going chest to chest on D just like FVV. Thornton reminds of FVV. He has a high chance of getting Udoka's favor and getting real mins just like FVV.
Keldon Johnson was drafted 29th, he wasn't a lotto pick. He's also the reigning 6MOY so it's not like he's terrible either. The Spurs also drafted Derrick White and Dejounte Murray with the 29th pick of their drafts so they can find good value well beyond the consensus picks.
