Thompson scooped up again

Nor'Eadter drops Maxiell, picks up Thompson

In another dropping of an overhyped big man, Nor'Easter has given up for now on Jason Maxiell. Like recently dropped Blatche or Amir Johnson, many had Maxiell pegged as something of a sleeper, and indeed, he looked quite good in spurts last season. But thus far he's just not getting the minutes in a deep DET frontcourt to produce. So far, he's averaging only 5/3 in only 16 MPG. Remarkably, he has yet to produce an assist this season. With Kwame Brown now starting, Rasheed playing extraordinarily well, and McDyess perhaps returning to DET, Maxiell's short term upside is low.

We've talked about Thompson quite a bit - to review: Thompson is a rookie PF in Sacramento - in Brad Miller's absence during the first 5 games of the season, he looked terrific. My$hkin dropped Paul Millsap to pick him up. Then Miller returned, and Thompson's minutes declined steeply; my$hkin dropped Thompson at that point for Gerald Green. Then Kevin Martin got hurt, and Thompson was inserted into the starting lineup, and had a fine game or two. Martin should be back in a week or so, and Francisco Garcia will eventually return as well, so presumably Thompson will not be starting for long at SF. Mikki Moore is a pretty terrible PF, though, so there's hope for Thompson. It should be noted that Spencer Hawes has been producing, and adds to the crowd in the frontcourt. In any event, Thompson seems quite capable of 15/10 nights, if given the minutes.

Judgment: We're not convinced either player will be helpful for very long, but Thompson has shown he's NBA-ready and is at least producing a bit right now. Maxiell won't be missed (though all should keep an eye on him, in case his role increases), but we suspect we'll see Thompson on the wire again in the coming weeks.