Tyrus Thomas: To Keep or Not to Keep?

[ramblingrose33]

With news that the Bulls are letting Tyrus Thomas test free agency this summer, I can't help but question the move. A lot of us agree that the Bulls should not let Thomas go for less or nothing.

Is it correct to assume that Thomas is a bust or is he playing more like a one/two year player? Think about it, had he played four years at LSU, he'd be in his second NBA year. I think the Bulls should treat him as such and we should keep him around. He still looks lost at times but I think he really can develop into a good player for our team.

 

[jsain360]

I don't know to be honest, the one thing I do know is, I don't like the way Vinny is benching him, he is playing good ball, he is not forcing shots(like he did last year), he is rebounding, defending, driving to the bucket, and taking his jump shots w/in th offense, Taj Gibson has not looked good so far, Tyrus needs to be playing 30 minutes.

 

[clonetrooper264]

I think a sign and trade would be the best case scenario for Tyrus. I'm fairly certain that he's not a Bull beyond this year unless we get absolutely NO ONE in FA.

 

[Diddy1122]

clonetrooper264 wrote:

I think a sign and trade would be the best case scenario for Tyrus. I'm fairly certain that he's not a Bull beyond this year unless we get absolutely NO ONE in FA.

Agreed. With JJ & Taj on the team now, I don't feel there's a place for Tyrus anymore. Will he ever live up to his potential? I don't really think so. He doesn't have that drive to be the best, & his overall bball IQ is pretty dang low. Plus he's worked on his jumper for 3 seasons now & has he shown much improvement in that area? Not really. I'd hate to give up on a player that is still young, but people need to realize he's not a rookie. He's been in the league 4 seasons now, it's time to produce & produce consistently. It's now or never for him.

 

[RPK]

Tyrus has had problems with all 3 Bulls head coaches because he makes constant mental mistakes and doesn't always hustle on plays. How else can you explain not playing in the fourth quarter of he Heat game and Taj pushing Tyrus for minutes? It's not like Gibson is setting the league on fire.

I honestly think Tyrus will never change so we might as well trade him once he has a string of decent games and his value is up.

 

[??? ??????]

Tyrus only remains a Bull if John Salmons opts into his contract.

 

[houheffna]

Agreed. With JJ & Taj on the team now, I don't feel there's a place for Tyrus anymore.

Totally disagree, Taj doesn't seem ready and JJ is not playing at all. The future shouldn't be in the hands of such uncertainty...

 

[flipcyde23]

I need to see more games to finalize my answer, but watching Tyrus for the past 4 years I still feel I'm watching a rookie. The most athletic player on this ball club and he doesn't know how to use it to full advantage. There have been numerous plays, especially in the Playoffs where I was yelling "WTF are you doing!!" The old, "Tyrus no. No NO...Yes!!! thank you God he made it!" I would be pulling my hair out. It gets old. I am really hoping this is his breakout season, but if not...T-Time = Trade Time.

 

[ramblingrose33]

The thing is, if we can get a good deal, I'd say 8 - 9 million/year, then we need to keep him and develop him at least two more years. As a fan, I have to have a little pity for Thomas. He had Skiles which probably wasn't his favorite and now he has VDN. NBA and college are not the same thing. Just because he entered the NBA early doesn't mean he's the next Kobe or Garnett. It just means we had first dibs.

 

[??? ??????]

ramblingrose33 wrote:

The thing is, if we can get a good deal, I'd say 8 - 9 million/year, then we need to keep him and develop him at least two more years. As a fan, I have to have a little pity for Thomas. He had Skiles which probably wasn't his favorite and now he has VDN. NBA and college are not the same thing. Just because he entered the NBA early doesn't mean he's the next Kobe or Garnett. It just means we had first dibs.

The Bulls will never do that. Tyrus Thomas will be gone, simply for the fact of pride issues from the Bulls ownership (unless Thomas just explodes into a star this year), because than they would be admitting that they were wrong about not bringing back BG, as re-signing Thomas would kill all their cap room, and that 2010 free agent they were touting as replacing BG would not exist.

And I don't see any reason why you would re-sign Thomas to $8-9 million. The MLE should probably be the high point for Thomas on a contract.

 

[Hendu0520]

Well I think it is too early to make a decision on Tyrus, but damn VDN give him a chance? Taj Gibson hustles but he can't catch the ball or shoot, why is he playing? Oh and did anyone notice in the Miami game Taj should have had like 4 blocks that he just swung and missed?

Tyrus has never gotten a chance, everyone knows Thomas is gonna make some strange/stupid plays but "other coaches" that know how to develop players would let a guy play through it. You can't bench a guy every time he makes a mistake, that NEVER works.

Thomas isn't the superstar I wanted him to be so if he goes it won't be the end of the world. But I think he has had 3 blocks in every game this year, and I love to see him dunk, I would be sad to see him go, one of my favorite Bulls ever, I love entertaining players

 

[pinkizdead]

how cheap will tyrus be willing to sign? i guess that's the bottom line. if tyrus is willing to sign cheap or come off the bench, i'm down. he would be an above average role player.