WOW! Looks like S. Hawes will be coming off the bench, this is great news for J. Thompson owners like myself.
I got him in the 8th RD which is where I think should be going at. This kid has so many upsides, what do you think?

dont think he will be a double double machine, probably 14-8

I drafted Thompson this year and I think he has a chance to improve on his line from last season, but 1) I doubt Hawes comes off the bench for long and 2) I'm not going to assume his numbers would spike much without Hawes playing with him.

I'm looking at something like 13-8-.8-.7 with the percentages staying largely the same with his 50/70 line last year. Definitely a good value pick where he's been available in most leagues, but I really don't see him as having huge upside. He's a polished guy, he will get better but not drastically.

no, JT is gonna be a bigger inside scorer this year.
gotta estimate: 17 points, 9 rebs. he might even average 1 block per game this season.
his FT% might still be a concern.

Those numbers are about right. But I'd say 14.5 and 7.8 boards. He'll have some monster games but the offense doesn't run through him so if he's not getting put backs or Evans can't get him the ball down low he might have a good number of single digit games. Hard to really gauge how the bigs will play in the up tempo offense. I like his chances of improving but given his FT% and not really being a defensive presence its not really alot of value that I'd ever count on as a starter on a fantasy team.

In case some of you really didn't pay attention to Jason Thompson last season,
here's some cliff notes to get you up to speed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIfWBgzCAR4...feature=related

Thanks for the update. I never watched him much. I disagree with you comparing him to like a Chris Webber, but watching the video I saw him more like David West, a good solid player with very good shooting range for a big man with decent athleticism but nothing real special. I have more admiration for him given his ability to hit a jumper with range. He'll have to expand his game in the other facets though to be special in my view, but that's what everyone is stating either way.

I personally am not comparing him to Chris Webber. Specifically, i'm not comparing his game to Chris Webber's game.
I definitely know that Thompson does not have the same type of all-around game that Webber had. But all i'm saying is that, in regards to Sacramento... they have been billing him as their next Chris Webber. Mainly due to the fact that he's a Power Forward, and that he is an athletic player who can score inside and rebound very well. The city of Sacramento has needed/wanted a solid PF for years ever since Webber left.
And furthermore, they've been proclaiming Thompson and Hawes as the next Webber and Divac, respectively.
They do work well together. But ofcourse the fans are just trying to get hyped about their team for the future.

But honestly, Thompson is a solid player. David West is a decent comparison. Lamarcus Aldridge too. I've even compared him to Carlos Boozer's style of game(in terms of the Pts and Rebs, but no Blks).
Anyway, JT is a stud. And he'll be very huge this year for the Kings. that's my opinion. the fans and the management want this guy to be their new "Chris Webber". aka franchise player.

Fine by me....

What are the chances he gets Center eligibility back?

hmmm.. i'm not sure about that one.
I would think if they're ever gonna give him C-eligibility, it would be now while Hawes comes off the bench.
but Sean May is probably gonna start at C, and JT will just remain a PF all season long.
oh well.

I've been drinking the Jason Thompson koolaid. Drafted him in 4 leagues...every other league I'm in besides my dynasty. Hoping for at least 15-8 with a block (sadly he'll probably be closer to something like 0.8).

David West Jr.

JT is going to be a beast this season!!

He needs to get that ft% to 80% To be in any catagorey with David West. I've got thompson lined up for 13ppg-9.5rpg-1block on 49% fgs-2.0 tos

wtf is going on here? shooting like garbage this year.......

He can never get in a rhythm because he's always sitting on the bench in foul trouble, especially early in the game...

He might be tired from those preseason minutes. It's a long way to go, but it appears he's not really all that. He's a nice player with limited upside.

i had been so high on this guy, but he has just been absolutely disappointing.

great fantasy night after finally staying out of foul trouble. hopefully this will serve as positive reinforcement for the up and coming double double machine.

I was definitely happy to see this from Thompson. I think we will see a lot more like it. In his second year the discipline to stay out of foul trouble long enough to log big minutes should come, and with the minutes will come increased production.

Woo, finally a nice line from JT. Glad I didn't drop him, the first two weeks are always the worst. So much unrealized potential and so little patience...

He looks gifted when he's on the floor. Maybe not as ready defensively, still gets lost guarding faster bigs, but his offensive game is really improving and I was shocked at how well he anticipates where the rebound is going. IF he can stay out of foul trouble this season, he's going to average 14 and 10 with 3 assists. Nice all around game. Exciting

This guy is available in my league and I want him badly. His OReb's are crazy high as are his asst numbers. FG% doesn't bother me much because it will come around, but the FT% is a huge problem. I happen to have a team full of good FT% big men and don't want to screw it up.

How will Kev Mart's injury (assuming he misses time) affect JT's game? Will he be the focal point of their offense now?

I think he's gonna get more inside looks definitely. He's not a number 1 option yet though. That honor will be split among Evans (who holds the ball way too long), hawes, udrih, nocioni, and JT. Basically everyone will get more looks now. But no one will be the focal point in my opinion

The assists are just coming out like crazy. He might be the guy the Kings look to for starting up the offense if Evans isn't getting it going. Thompson is going off lately!!

yeah the assists are definitely very unexpected...

"The next healthy Marcus Camby"

This guy is the man. He is filling the stat sheet every game. Him, Noah, Lou Williams, Wilson Chandler, and Tyreke Evans were my main sleepers this year. Wilson needs to step up!

Well not really. He doesn't block many shots and he will score a lot more points, but from the assists and rebounds department it's a fair comparison.

No assists so far but on the verge of a 20/10 game. Been beasting for a few games now..

Imagine if he would have been allowed to enter the game in the 4th quarter? But either way, nice 3Q DD.

Looking at his stats from college, some of those assists could be for real. He averaged 2.7 in college, none too shabby for a starting center.

My biggest worry is who does he have to dish it to? Offense is sparse at best in Arco.

he can throw it to himself off the backboard

Do any of you Kings fans/reporters think Thompson could end up with center-elligibility? He's a big boy (6'11, 260 lbs), and seems like he'd be more of a formidable defensive presence down low based on size alone, outweighing Hawes by 30 lbs (though Hawes is no waif at 7'2, 230 lbs).

Heck, maybe he does man the post and i just don't know - I don't watch many/any Kings games.

Well he provided a lot of open looks last night. I know it's not Kev out there hoisting 3's, but even with Tyreke, Beno, Noc, and Omri, he will get some guys some open looks. Some are bound to fall. That said, in an interview with the Sac tv crew before Saturday's game, he stated that he's been really working on finding the open shooter when he's not in a position to shoot. So he takes less shots but he gains some more assists. So you'd think, his FG% should go up a bit and his assists up around to around 3, and maybe his TO's up just a bit as well. Either way, a nightly DD threat that could get you 3 assists would be terrific.

I'm far from a Kings fan, but I have seen 4 of their games so far on league pass (partly because I really enjoy watching JT). I think he has yet to truly post up as a C. Normally when he's out there either Hawes or May are alongside him so he sits at PF. I don't see how it's possible for him to get C eligibility without an injury/trade. He'd be money with C eligibility though.

Nice line tonight =] If JT would get more blocks then he would truly be a steal. I think hes one of the few late rounders I have kept

Damn it looks like Tyreke's turnovers are rubbing off on JT

LOL. I noticed it's either him or Tyreke who has the ball late game and he was consistently double teamed. It won't be this bad every night. I liked what I saw, he and Tyreke are becoming the Kings' go-to-guys late game. 3 wins in a row!

Great fantasy player but horrible real life player. He was having problem dominating the much smaller Jeff Green and much slower Krstic. On that horrible Kings lineup he'll keep posting numbers though.

What game were you watching?

14 rebounds, 7 of them offensive as the Kings killed them on the boards 51-36.

Krstic couldn't guard him. Every time he had Krstic on him, he took him to the rack and got the foul and was 9-10 from the line as a result.

JT definately needs to finish stronger in the paint and tonight struggled with the TO's, but he helped control this game tonight with his work in the paint.

Can all the JT supporters rally together and bug Yahoo to give him his C eligibility back? He seems to slider over the C when he gets paired with *gasp* Kenny Thomas off the bench.


Like a lot of young players, JT has to learn how to gather himself and go up strong. He missed a lot of put backs and gimmie layup/tip ins tonight, granted he was up against a weak frontline so those opportunities may be scarce against more established bigs, although I am pleased with how the Kings are making an effort to get him involved in the offense.

Bingo. Same with Hawes

Czar and others who watch the Kings on a regular basis, I have a question:

What do you think his blocks/game look like going forward? Also is the FT% gain a sustainable one? If he can block over a shot a game, he's in an elite crowd of guys who have the potential to average a double-double with a block a game. I traded for him in a dynasty and dealt him in a redraft with questions about where his actual value lies in the face of some new strengths and one new weakness (FG%) which I think will fix itself. His size and athleticism along with a smooth stroke are encouraging to me in thinking he can continue the improved categories, but the sample is so small I hate to start patting myself on the back (dynasty) or slapping myself in the face (redraft) just yet.

He had a MONSTROUS block on Westbrook during crunch time last night, and although he doesn't have that mentality or instinct to go after every shot like a true shotblocker (a la Camby) he should get at least 1 per game just for being on the court with his size and athletism. His FT% has been a true surprise, he's got smooth form (no Chuck Hayes type craziness) so it looks like it's something he's worked on over the off season. Based on his history though I'd taper expectations down to around 75%, which is maybe too hefty of an increase from his career 69% and 66% college stats but with the way he's been stroking them the past 4 games it's not out of the question.

Thompson's averages since K-Mart went down(including the last game K-Mart played through injury...)

46.8 fg% 85.7 ft% 18.5ppg 11.8rpg 2.5apg 1bpg

Things are looking bright in Jason Thompson land...(as long as he continues to manage his temptation to rack up fouls)

what's with the low fg % tho ? those who watch the Kings, can we expect a surge in that department ? Is it a trend or circumstance-type thing like his low number of turnovers prior to last night's game ?

He missed a couple lay ups and a lot of tip ins last night, hence the low FG% and high OREB. He's a beast on the offensive glass averaging around 4 a game this year as well as when he started to get significant minutes at the end of last year so expect the tip ins to start falling evenutally which will right his FG% closer to 48-50%. I'd be less worried about the FG% and more excited about the FT%.

his fg% should be higher than it has on most nights because he has been missing some EASY putbacks, but it's probably smart to realize that he is also now the #2 option on this team and attracting more defensive attention.

He has completely passed Hawes by in terms of production. Hawes is still valuable, but as I stated on the Hawes board, this is a situation in which JT will dominate in games unless he's on the bench. Then Hawes has room for big nights. But when both are out of foul trouble, it's clearly JT's minutes to produce.

These young kings are growing up so fast. I drafted him in the tenth round and after a few bumps early on this guy is turning into a pretty good pickup.