What do you expect from him this year? With Taj Gibson and James Johnson on their way to roster, can Tyrus get at least 30 mins from Del Negro ?

13.5ppg-8.1rpg-1.5apg-48%fgs-78%fts-1.3steals-1.9blocks-2.0 tos.

I'd love to see 15 points a game.

I totally think he'll hit 15 points a game and the rebounds will be over 9. He will get 30 minutes a game if he can be consistent. They're expecting him to be the player they drafted this season.

Certainly off to a good start tonight. 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a block and a steal. Very nice. Not sure we'll get quite as high as 9+ rebounds with noah and miller on the team, but 15+ points seems in the realm of possibility.

Last year 50 game played/30+ mins...

Ty.Thomas 12.7Pts/7.06RB/1.1AST/1.26STL/2.1BLK/1.7TO/9.8 shot/g:47.4% FG/4.4shot/g:78.6%FT

So if he plays 30+mins,I expect a bit more in points (13+).

isnt he considered pretty good value that late? like 8th-9th?

He'll almost never go 8th-9th, I don't think. I'm surprised Yahoo has him ranked so low, but he could easily be a top 50 player, and I've drafted him in the early sixth with no regrets.

He's going in 5th and 6th round in most drafts.

i have him on a team, but i acknowledge that his downside risk is far greater than just about any other player taken in the middle rounds.

I'm saying Josh Smith is a steal in the 4th round. If Tyrus Thomas gets the playing time he will probably be an even better value about 50 - 60 picks later.

This is a good comparison... Tyrus has the upside to be what Smith was supposed to be last year.

He actually came on strong during the second half last season, but consistency is one of the most important aspects of H2H and he's starting to prove that he can be relied upon on a daily basis (at least in terms of STL and BLKs). Will consistency in all the other categories carry over to this year? With all the talent/scorers on Chicago, I'm doubting it. Still a fun (yet irritating) player to own though.

What scares me is Del Negro falling in love with Gibson.

As we have seen with Scott Skiles a coach can kill the fantasy value of a player.

As long as TT gets mins. he is going to produce. I think this is his year to take that next step...but if he doesn't, i could see him getting lost in the Del Negro shuffle...

Tyrus heated up in the 3rd quarter. 3 blocks in 3 quarter. yay

I don't know how to feel about this Taj Gibson character.

he ended up with a pretty good game for the limited minutes he received. what worries me is you can totally see that del negro keeps him on a really short leash. not sure why.... and why does salmons get so many minutes? he really isn't that impressive....del negro thinks he's kobe or something

Couldn't agree more...Del Negro is a joke. Let the kid go!

I already have doubts about TT's breakout year.

1 week into the season and TT is already in the doghouse. i'm kicking myself for drafting him when i knew he had so much downside. handcuff with Taj Gibson (starting tonight) ASAP.

I have both him and A. Randolph. I guess I stocked up on big lanky shot blockers with questionable playing time.

i've watched a few games and can quite tell what he does to get in the doghouse? he seems pretty active on the glass and is a great shot blocker out there... meanwhile salmons runs around and chucks up any and every shot he gets...same with rose and deng and yet they are aloud to do as they please.../bitter tt owner

I really don't get this.

Tyrus will make some boneheaded plays, most every player his age will. Heck, I remember young Manu driving Pops crazy. But at some point you have to let them work through it, too short a leash makes players play tentatively because they're afraid to make a mistake. It's not like CHI is title contenders or something.

BTW - I watched Gibson for years at USC. He's not exactly Mr. Basketball IQ himself.

Gibson officially in starting lineup per yahoo. not sure if TT is playing or not, because Gibson was slated to start regardless. i've pulled TT from my lineup.

Tyrus supposedly had flu like symptoms earlier in the day. He may play but because of it they already said he would not start. In regards to the short chain from DelNegro. That's been the case since last year and has continued. It probably doesn't help that he's very immature and will speak out his mind. DelNegro wants to prove he is the boss. Maybe Chicago is trying to hold his value down to lower his salary levels for the future. As nice as Gibson has looked, I don't think he can change the game like Tyrus can.

Last year he blew up after getting frustrated with his benchings and what not. That could happen again this year, then again it might not. But I need a PF pretty badly in a league that starts 2 PF's, so would offering my Barbosa for Thomas be wise?

What is going on??? Does anyone else smell something fishy...

Is Thomas physically sick or is he mentally sick from Del Negros coaching?

Dude is a nut case. Tyrus the tease is at it again. I really thought he turned the corner in the playoffs last year in both his play and his maturity. I guess I was wrong.

It's pretty odd that the Bulls didn't pick up his option for next year. Doesn't show a ton of faith in Thomas from the Bulls front office.

On the bright side that means Thomas should be playing for a contract if he gets playing time.

i think i am picking up taj gibson until i know what is going on here

Is anybody ready to just cut him...

Not a chance.

Unless you are in a very shallow league or there is an amazing free agent pick up you shouldn't be cutting Tyrus. He will play over 30 mins a game this year when he gets too 100%. He will average over 2 blocks a game and probably average close to 2 steals a game as well. That would make him extremely valuable considering..

Only 5 players averaged 2 blocks or more a game... Dwight Howard was the only one of those to average 1.0 steal a game, he averaged exactly 1 steal a game as well...

to go along with above, this is RW article for couple days ago. i agree not a chance.

If you need steals and blocks, target Tyrus Thomas.

Nothing quite like a triple-t alliteration blast to make us all feel young again after that whole "Larry Hughes is 30" thing earlier.

And if you're wondering why I'm suggesting that you go after a guy who's not only in his coach's doghouse for the 832nd time but is also shooting just 42.9 percent from the field and 56.3 from the line while averaging 9.0 points and 6.7 boards (along with 1.0 steals and 2.0 blocks), I'll tell you why.

The reason is, pretty much this precise thing happened last season. In November, Thomas averaged a brutal 5.5 points in 15 games and no doubt got cut in a lot of leagues or traded for one tolar on the dollar (tolars, in case you're wondering, are the old Slovenian currency – I once used them to buy many slices of cheese pizza and one rancid McChicken sandwich on a trip to Slovenia when I did not know what else to eat).

But because my brain is currently melting and oozing out of my ears and nose, I digress. The point I was trying to make is that Thomas' value, and standing with his coach, have a tendency to fluctuate. And you don't need to have a fully functioning brain to realize that Tyrus is the kind of player who needs extra motivation, nor do you need one to realize that Vinny Del Negro is doing what he can to motivate him.

So, if the opportunity is there (and it should be), get Thomas at a discount, fight through a little bit of inevitable frustration and before too long I have a feeling you'll be quite happy with the results. Last season, Thomas showed some flashes in December, then fully broke out with a 15-point, eight-rebound, two-steal, eight-block game on Jan. 3, remaining an occasionally explosive, sometimes frustrating but ultimately quite useful fantasy starter the rest of the way.

I'm not saying it will definitely, 100 percent go down that exact same way this season, but I just have a hunch that we're gonna see a little more frustration followed by a big breakout once again.

Tyrus Thomas has joined his Bulls teammates in Cleveland and said he's going to try to play against the Cavaliers Thursday night.
"I'm doing alright. Just want to be there," Thomas said. Asked if he's going to play, he said, "Gonna try it." Consider him questionable for Thursday night.

Woot, I need them blocks.

+2 blks, +2 stls a game... Tyrus could easily become a poor man's J Smoove... If not make J Smoove a poor man's Tyrus Thomas. That is the kind of upside this kid carries.

Flying out to Cleveland on his own when he's sick in hopes of gutting it out and getting some playing time...

Anyone think this could be the kind of behavior that gets him out of Del Negro's doghouse?

Guess not. Looks like it might be Gibson's job

Too soon to say.

I just heard on the radio here in Chicago that Tyrus was taken for X-rays on his forearm due to a "freak weightlifting accident." The news just broke. I'm not sure if it's serious or not, but I'm back in the office now so I'm not able to listen to the radio anymore. I just thought I would give any of his owners a heads-up.

WHAT???

Has anyone else heard this?

confirmation would be nice. or not so nice really.

I wouldn't freak out about it until details are confirmed. Like I said, it could be nothing, but I just got done with my lunch hour when the news broke.

Listening to 670 AM Chicago sports radio online, they just said Vinny Del Negro said Tyrus was doing a pullup and did something, and that is was "unfortunate". Then they started talking about the White Sox. No idea what the extent of the injury is.

This is unreal... on one of my teams, I missed the draft and wound up with Rashard Lewis, Antawn Jamison, Devin Harris, and Tyrus.

Will post if I hear another update.

If all he was doing was a pull-up, this should be good news, shouldn't it? Maybe he tweaked or strained something, but I can't imagine it to be that serious.

All speculation at this point. who knows

Ok here's the latest: apparently Tyrus did something in the weight room, Del Negro said they didn't even know what he did, but that he got hurt and was sore. Went for X-rays, and the results won't be available today. Del Negro sounded like he had no idea what happened and no idea how bad it was, but it didn't sound like he thought it was serious. More confusion than concern on his part, but obviously you never know until the results come back.

Either way, this sucks.

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/...s-left-arm.html

he's lifting weights when still recovering from the flu?

Del Negro seems to have a pretty relaxed attitude about the whole thing.