To be fair. Bruce's stats pale in comparison to Cam Whitmore's 2023 Summer League Most Valuable Player stats
He’s an elite shooter with a good enough handle. He’s slow as molasses but he can actually drive to the rim and finish or draw fouls because he plays physical. Long way to go on the defensive end but he tries. I’d say he looks like a good 2nd round pick.
I agree that Thornton puts in great effort and looks like a solid 2nd-round pick. Does that make Thornton a rotation player on our team? Probably not. The future backup PG for Philly, Labaron Philon, drafted #22 in the first round — so 9 spots higher than Thornton — didn't look a step quicker than our reserve PG. (Interestingly, their combine lane agility and 3/4 court times are comparable. On that whole lane agility test, I do wonder if either of these guys practiced all that drill all that much. My guess is that pundits care about this test more than anyone else.) I do think quick guys that attempt to speed him up are going to get pushed out of the way as Thornton goes where he wants. We've seen him prove that already. If his jump shot improves, he might earn minutes. Defensively, Thornton will have to study extensively and understand people's tendencies to keep up.
You can tell he's played a lot of college basketball games. If training camp looks similarly, he may be the end of the bench guard. G League has consistently gotten worse every year, so how much is getting tons of minutes in the G League vs sitting on a NBA bench worth? Maybe first half in G League because he's going to have quite a few folks on the roster ahead of him.
I dont think it will be out of position for BT to be a floor spacer, in fact that will likely be his role if he sees any minutes. You aint giving BT the rock when you have Sengun KD Amen Smart...hell even Reed has better iso skills than BT. BT will just bring the ball up to half court if at all then give it to someone else and spot up for 3.
I think Thornton is already there defensively. He knows how to box out and keep his man from driving in. He doesnt really get baited and get caught flat footed. He isnt an elite defender but he isnt bad either. If we didnt have both Smart and Bogy I think he would instantly be part of the rotation.
Honestly, like I said on draft night, Thornton is EXACTLY what you want from a second round pick. Guys like him and Shead are solid bench pieces, and they are the reason why I hate how Stone just gives away second round picks like they are absolutely worthless. Those picks have value. Yeah, you'll miss on more than you'll hit with them, but sometimes you get lucky. Hopefully Thornton can keep it up.
fwiw... i look on it as srps can usually be bought for cash... shuffling off 3 of em w DFS to avoid the repeater tax when amen gets extended is a wise economic move... provided Tilly is willing to reinvest some of those savings down the road...
I agree with you but those 2nd round picks were used to get Steven Adams and KD who are way better than your typical 2nd rounder. We also used 3 srp to get under the tax. Thats the owner's choice Stone cant do anything if the boss wants to save money.
It is good that he is already well developed bc you know Stone/Udoker duo are not really great at developing projects.
Both of them are pretty terrible athletically by NBA standards but Philon has significantly better straight line speed, is taller, and has a better wingspan and standing reach. Neither of them are very good prospects, but that's why Philon is a better prospect.
