Billups noted how Thomas played a good "floor" game tonight... He did not force his offense tonight (yet still broke 20) but managed to set up easy scores for Lopez and Randle.
He got hot there for a while, great to see him help get us the win, and win a revenge game. Now don’t re-sign him please.
Taking the leadership reins... After that dish to Randle for the and one, he gathered the team to settle them down and organize. That meant more than the scoring.
...goaded Calderon and Hill into fouls that led to free throws. Played mostly in control. Kept his dribble alive, picked and probed for scores both for himself and others. A couple of deflected passes and a pick. Cleveland ran Thomas through so much pick and rolls but the damage was minimal I thought. Fought out there defensively.
Beautiful revenge game from IT. Love to see that passionate hatred running through his veins! Fun stuff as he stuck the dagger into the Cavs' backs in the fourth.
20 points on 16 shots. He is who he is. He’s not efficient, and he’s not big, but he’s confident and his skills and conditioning are returning. I liked the effort on D even though often totally overmatched. The passing in traffic is pretty much “brace yourself” terrible, but his ability to penetrate the defense has been something we’ve needed to get the most out of our bigs.
Would make an excellent 6th man option on a great team. I appreciate that he wants to be The Man, but if he wants to win more than he wants to be successful for himself, he's going to have to realize that's his best option. He can get 20 points a night easily and quietly. It's impressive, but I'm not counting on it to win a title. I doubt any other team is either at this point.
There’s no doubt in my mind that one of those lowly Eastern conference teams, like Atlanta or Detroit, will offer him near max money. I’m gonna enjoy the final few weeks we have left with him. Been a pleasant surprise. I appreciate his leadership and professionalism, and hope some of it rubs off on our kids before he’s gone.
Even as a 6th man IT to get those 20 every night requires plays and shots 3 x tougher than watching Lou Williams go about it. That cat is amazing.
Guys, IT2 is pretty good. Let's enjoy him while he's still here. More than likely he won't be but if LeBron goes to Phillly or Houston, I could see us bringing him back for 1 more year along with a re-signed Julius and signed PG13. He can be our Lou Will next year easily. I'm rooting for IT2 because I genuinely like him as a person and as a basketball player. Plus, the C Bags did him so dirty I want him to stick it to them!
I think we have a shot to resign him, and we can thank Lou Williams for that. Sweet Lou pretty much destroyed the market for him, if he commands 3yrs/21mil I think it's possible IT gets offered less in the FA market
I think you're right, and IT2 likely won't even get a multi-year deal this summer because he needs to prove he can stay healthy so he's likely going for a 1-year balloon deal similar to KCP last year but probably even less $...something like a 1-year, 10M deal.
I'd be fine bringing him back for MLE type money (not that I think we'll have anything like that available), but I don't know what he's looking for. At this point in his career, he's likely missed the boat on a big payday and he still has delusions of grandeur. I love his moxie and I love that he's so confident in himself, but I also don't believe a team can win a ring with him as the best player. He's a 6th man. A brilliant 6th man, sure, but that's his role. If he's willing to embrace that, then I'm willing to play ball. Otherwise I don't know what he's going to find on the open market.