Raptors add Jason Thompson – what can he do to help?

The Raptors dumped Anthony Bennett, yet added Jason Thompson. Can this veteran give our team a lift?

Following the NBA trade deadline (or “dudline” – thank you Chris Sheridan), the only way for teams to dump unwanted members of their rosters was to buy them out or put them on the waiver wire. While the Toronto Raptors were allegedly interested in several players, the only one who has come on board in this fashion is big man Jason Thompson (I say “big man” because he’s listed as a power forward/centre. The Raptors don’t need another centre, so I’m declaring him a backup power forward).

He’s seen exactly 72 seconds of game action as a Raptor, which tells us nothing, so we must speculate. Can Jason help the team? If so, how?

Coach Dwane Casey persists in starting Luis Scola at the 4, despite production which has slipped from poor to embarrassing. Patrick Patterson is the backup, although he’s playing more minutes than our aging Argentinian. 2-Pat is ranked 65th out of 71 eligible power forwards with a PER of 9.38. To say we need help at this spot is understating the matter.

I’ve written before about eliminating the PF position entirely, to run an Eastern Conference version of the Golden State small-ball system. I call it Four Shooters and a Big, but the configuration is not do-able until DeMarre Carroll returns at 100% health. As Alex McKechnie [Raptors Director of Sports Science] reminded me recently, when I pressed him on a return date for our long-injured small forward, information like that would be unethical to reveal. Alex is quite right, of course, as it’s a matter of patient confidentiality. Until Carroll is back, somebody has to step up to the 4-spot, and I’d like to see Jason get the chance.

He’s a traditional power forward. I wouldn’t trust him to shoot the ball beyond the painted area; should he participate in the offense, it would be by crashing the boards or presenting at the hoop for a quick pass. That sort of thing won’t help Jason’s cause much. He needs to show coach Dwane Casey he can be an essential defensive contributor.

One thing I like to see from a big man is his ability to transition from offense to defense. An easy test: if he’s unsuccessfully contested an offensive rebound, can he recover to not be the last man back the other way? No one expects Jason Thompson to out-run James Harden, but he surely can be expected to keep up with Terrence Jones.

The NBA can be nasty on big power forwards. There are precious few who are still banging in the low post into their thirties. Jason turns thirty this summer, so the clock is definitely ticking.

I doubt Jason will get much floor time against Houston, but the Raptors next opponent is the sad Brooklyn Nets. Assuming a win against the Rox, coach Casey should make an effort to discover what he’s got with Thompson. Tell Jason he’s being pencilled in as the starter should he render a solid Monday practise. If he rebounds and keeps his man in check on Tuesday night, leave him out there. What’s his fatigue point – 18 minutes of burn…22?

We won’t know any of this sort of thing until we get Jason on the floor. He can’t be any worse than whom we’ve already got, and he might be better. Now is the time for discovery, not just before or during the playoffs.