Small Ball

[Heathbar012]

Klay doesn't have the athleticism to be a great defender, but what I love about him is his effort. He's about an average defender, if not slightly above. That's not a knock on him, because I believe he's playing at or above his capabilities on the defensive end. He doesn't have exceptional lateral quickness, which most great defenders have. Klay also has a bit of a tough time chasing defenders around and through screens. He does have size though, which allows him more recovery room.

I agree with the assessment, but how do you end up with slightly above average? I think he could be average, on the defensive end, in a couple more years with a lot of work. To be a good defender at his position, lateral quickness and fighting through screens are essential. To make up for his slow feet, he needs superior footwork (as in positioning), and he just isn't there yet. Based on his improvement at getting to the rim (which still needs more work, too) and elite shooting, he seems to have the work ethic to make this happen. That and his lack of injury history give him tremendous upside, but on a team with Steph Curry and David Lee, Thompson needs to be better defending the perimeter. Again, Iguodala, Barnes, Douglas and Bogut will help his development, but labeling his defense slightly above average or good are stretches, right now.

 

[CitySushi]

Sushi: Agree w/you re Klay's lateral movements. But, neither did Rick Fox have much in the way of movement, lateral or anything. Fox was slow as in slow as molasses but he knew how to play angles and got up in someone's grill. Same to w/Bruce Bowen though BB was one of the best of all time. Nice to be physically gifted but you can play D w/out it.

The two players you mentioned also played with a level of toughness that we haven't yet seen from Klay. The physical aspect of his game is missing, from both sides of the ball. Klay has trouble when it comes to getting physical. I'd most like to see this change at the offensive end and his ability to finish around the rim.

 

[CitySushi]

I agree with the assessment, but how do you end up with slightly above average? I think he could be average, on the defensive end, in a couple more years with a lot of work. To be a good defender at his position, lateral quickness and fighting through screens are essential. To make up for his slow feet, he needs superior footwork (as in positioning), and he just isn't there yet. Based on his improvement at getting to the rim (which still needs more work, too) and elite shooting, he seems to have the work ethic to make this happen. That and his lack of injury history give him tremendous upside, but on a team with Steph Curry and David Lee, Thompson needs to be better defending the perimeter. Again, Iguodala, Barnes, Douglas and Bogut will help his development, but labeling his defense slightly above average or good are stretches, right now.

I think you have to factor in that most times Klay guarded the best wing player for the oppositing team and many times was left on an island to defend by himself. If Curry wasn't such of a defensive liability, Klay would be able to showcase what he could do against the players he was supposed to guard (i.e. SG's.) Instead Klay was forced to guard guys like Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Deron Williams etc. Then the next game he would have to guard Kobe, Iguodala, Wade.

If you look around the league and take all the starting 2G's in the league, I'd say Klay is at or slightly above average as a defender right now.

 

[Heathbar012]

I think you have to factor in that most times Klay guarded the best wing player for the oppositing team and many times was left on an island to defend by himself. If Curry wasn't such of a defensive liability, Klay would be able to showcase what he could do against the players he was supposed to guard (i.e. SG's.) Instead Klay was forced to guard guys like Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Deron Williams etc. Then the next game he would have to guard Kobe, Iguodala, Wade.

If you look around the league and take all the starting 2G's in the league, I'd say Klay is at or slightly above average as a defender right now.

I definitely understand your reasoning, and he has had to take on the tougher assignments. In comparison to the rest of the league, he could be considered average, but more than half of the league doesn't play defense very well (not David Lee bad, but bad, nonetheless). The main issue is that he does play with Steph, and that isn't changing anytime soon. Thompson has a better chance of improving at that end of the floor, but he simply isn't there yet. I agree that getting to the rim should be his main focus, but if his defensive positioning doesn't improve, I lean toward using him as a sixth man (or trade bait) for the current construction of this squad.

 

[CitySushi]

I definitely understand your reasoning, and he has had to take on the tougher assignments. In comparison to the rest of the league, he could be considered average, but more than half of the league doesn't play defense very well (not David Lee bad, but bad, nonetheless). The main issue is that he does play with Steph, and that isn't changing anytime soon. Thompson has a better chance of improving at that end of the floor, but he simply isn't there yet. I agree that getting to the rim should be his main focus, but if his defensive positioning doesn't improve, I lean toward using him as a sixth man (or trade bait) for the current construction of this squad.

Truth.

I think we'll see Klay being moved in the next year or so. It will all hinge on how much progress Barnes makes this year. With the signing of Iguodala, the under stated aspect of this is that at some point either Barnes or Klay has to go. There's no way they can pay both of them down the road. It'll be interesting to see where Myers goes with this.

 

[rayhl111]

I don't see Klay being moved any time soon. He has upside and will be part of the trio - SC, KT and HB. Iggy is great but he is also 30 yrs of age. Shooters like Klay are fairly rare.

 

[CitySushi]

I don't see Klay being moved any time soon. He has upside and will be part of the trio - SC, KT and HB. Iggy is great but he is also 30 yrs of age. Shooters like Klay are fairly rare.

The problem becomes, who do you pay? You have Curry locked up to a pretty awesome deal at 11M per, but you have David Lee at 16M, you have AI at 12M. Bogut's deal is expiring this year, and then you have Klay Thompson who has 2 years left, and Barnes with 3. You probably can't pay all of them.

 

[NBKLee]

The problem becomes, who do you pay? You have Curry locked up to a pretty awesome deal at 11M per, but you have David Lee at 16M, you have AI at 12M. Bogut's deal is expiring this year, and then you have Klay Thompson who has 2 years left, and Barnes with 3. You probably can't pay all of them.

You basically answered your own question

Klay and HB are on rookie deals for 2 and 3 years respectively.

Curry is locked in for 4 years including this year?

Iggy for 4 years

D.Lee would be the logically choice, but no one is touching that contract. I don't really want to see any one moved. This team pushed SAS to 6 games last year? We were knocked on the door step of the WCF, we need some slight tweaking, and major surgery.

 

[Yoshi]

I think you have to factor in that most times Klay guarded the best wing player for the oppositing team and many times was left on an island to defend by himself. If Curry wasn't such of a defensive liability, Klay would be able to showcase what he could do against the players he was supposed to guard (i.e. SG's.) Instead Klay was forced to guard guys like Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Deron Williams etc. Then the next game he would have to guard Kobe, Iguodala, Wade.

If you look around the league and take all the starting 2G's in the league, I'd say Klay is at or slightly above average as a defender right now.

Spot on - Klay did a really good job on PG's (as I've mentioned on here before) but struggled with other 2 guards.

I don't know if you guys were watching the Blue vs White USA exhibition the other day, but Barnes' shot looks more developed with a nicer arc as opposed to some of those line drive shots he would take earlier in the season. If he ever develops into a more consistent shooter, Klay will probably be the first guy Myers looks to deal.

I would say Klay is an above average defender just because as I mentioned earlier, he does defend PG's pretty good. It's his defense on other more athletic 2 guards where he struggles. He doesn't have a lot of hops nor does he have the best footwork (he draws only 0.10 charges per game and that ranks pretty low compared to other SG's), but I do agree with the assessment that he is getting better.

Just for numbers sake, according to a site I'm checking out on total defense, Monta Ellis has better numbers than Klay (blocks + steals + charges drawn). As much as I am a fan of Klay, getting Iggy was a huge move because if Klay struggles with his shot and is forced to sit, having Iggy as a stop gap against some of the dominant 2's and 3's is an major plus.

 

[Yoshi]

I definitely understand your reasoning, and he has had to take on the tougher assignments. In comparison to the rest of the league, he could be considered average, but more than half of the league doesn't play defense very well (not David Lee bad, but bad, nonetheless). The main issue is that he does play with Steph, and that isn't changing anytime soon. Thompson has a better chance of improving at that end of the floor, but he simply isn't there yet. I agree that getting to the rim should be his main focus, but if his defensive positioning doesn't improve, I lean toward using him as a sixth man (or trade bait) for the current construction of this squad.

Out of the close to 400 guys who are in the league, roughly 10% of them (about 40 of them) are considered elite defenders or substantially better than average defenders.

I like what you said towards the end of your comment, Heath, because I too agree that if there's trade bait the guy that's most likely getting shopped is Klay. I'd prefer it being David Lee, but with that contract and his hip injury, we're riding out that contract unless Myers can package picks with Lee.