Klay Thompson's Potential

[Built Ford Tough]

After the Warriors decided to go into full blown tank mode, trading away Monta Ellis and starting a bunch of D-League scrubs or 2nd round picks, Thompson got a lot of burn as the focal point of the Warriors offense.

 

His month by month (ignoring December's 4 games) production in his rookie season was:

 

January: 7.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.4 apg on 44.8 FG%, 43.8 3PT% in 17.8 mpg

February: 8.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.9 apg on 48.8 FG%, 48.5 3PT% in 16.2 mpg

March: 16.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.7 apg on 42.1 FG%, 41.5 3PT% in 29.8 mpg

April: 18.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg on 45.9 FG%, 38.4 3PT% in 33.7 mpg

 

So as you can see he started out the year as what many people expected him to be, which was a reliable shooter from distance. He was efficiently knocking down his open jumpers but doing very little in terms of creating for himself or for others.

 

However, once they decided to deal Ellis and increase his role with the team, he proved to be much more effective than many people thought he would be. He was no longer just parking outside the three point line waiting for kickouts. Instead, he was given the ball and asked to create for himself. You can see that it took him a little while to adjust as evidence by his fairly substantial drop in FG%.

 

When April came along he seemed to really get comfortable as a go to offensive player. Obviously his percentages weren't as good as they were when he was strictly a catch and shoot guy, but he put up impressive percentages to go along with his 18.6 points a night and upped his rebounding. What is most impressive about his numbers is that he managed to increase his scoring output and efficiency despite playing with next to no talent beside him, which would allow defenses to focus more attention on him.

 

So with his rookie season finished and us seeing how well he developed as it went on, what exactly to you think the future holds for Thompson? It is clear that he has earned the starting shooting guard spot heading into next season. With (hopefully) a healthy Curry, Lee and Bogut there won't be as much pressure on him, but he has shown to be more than a catch and shoot player. What do you think his potential as a player is?

[Newman]

He is what some envisioned Jimmer to be. Klay and Alec Burks are two shooting guards I was really high on because they both have a really solid jumpshot , and that is hard to come by these days.

 

I don't see him being a 20 PPG guy, but 17-18 PPG at his peak sounds reasonable.

[Built Ford Tough]

He is what some envisioned Jimmer to be. Klay and Alec Burks are two shooting guards I was really high on because they both have a really solid jumpshot , and that is hard to come by these days.

 

I don't see him being a 20 PPG guy, but 17-18 PPG at his peak sounds reasonable.

 

I think you may be confusing Burks with somebody else because I don't think I've ever heard anybody describe him as havin a solid jumpshot. He had an eFG% of just 34% on jump shots this season.

 

What Burks does really well is slash and get to the line. He had an eFG% of nearly 60% on shots in the paint and drew a foul on 15% of his possessions.

 

A major reason why he was a late lottery pick last season is because he had no jumpshot. If he did, I have no doubt in my mind he would've been a top 8 pick because he has almost every other attribute you want in a shooting guard, aside from his poor jumper.

[DunkinDerozan]

I think the Kings made a mistake trading for Jimmer. I know its only his rookie year, but I just don't see him putting together a good NBA career. As for Thompson, the Warriors made a great pick. He looks like he'll be a great pick for being outside the top 10.