The Great Debate II: Jason Thompson or Spencer Hawes?

But my healthy fear of Jason Thompson made my vote for me.

The problem is. I think any team willing to take one for a superstar is going to want JT

thought w/ Hawes medical history he would be the choice.

JT is more solid all around. He has the makings of a great post player and if he bulks up some more, could also be a defensive stopper. This is his first year in the NBA and he’s already making great strides. To be fair, he is 2 years older than Spence.

Spencer is more ready to play defense now than JT I think. But he relies a lot on jumpers, and it almost reminds me a little bit of Brad Miller. The main difference between him and Brad though is that he brings a level of intensity to the court.

So yes, I’d take JT. JT in my opinion could be one of the best Power Forwards in the league for the next decade, while Spencer will probably remain a solid center.

Personally, I wouldn’t trade either of them. I think they can become a great tandem. Shock and Hawes all the way.

Hawes is younger and has more time to grow and mature as a person and a player (not calling JT old or anything, just saying…). But he also has the medical history (as hudson pointed out). Hawes has proved me wrong many times. I hated the pick when the Kings took him, but I’ve changed my tune. I’d really hate to lose him.

But I can’t see giving up on JT. I think he has such a high ceiling. And he certainly has the fire and hustle.

It’s always tough to gauge how the rest of the league perceives our players. I wonder which player would be more attractive to other GMs.

I’d like to think the vote totals reflect Spencer’s current struggles more than anything. I really like his leadership potential, and it’s true that he’s much younger and, like twasserm points out, has more room to grow. But, there’s always the knee factor, which in the end tilted my vote to Shock.

I agree that keeping both would be nice because I think they have the potential to complement each other well. But the whole premise of the poll is to assume you have to deal one away. I think should that situation arise it would be important to take into account the rest of the team, as well as who you’re trading for. If you are getting back a shotblocker, are still worried about rebounding, and are fine with the leadership of K-Mart or whoever you’re trading for, then I think Spence would be the one to move. But if rebounding is under control and you need a guy with a versitile offense like Spencer, and are only getting someone who can play PF and not Center, then it might make more sense to move Jason.

I think in general if I had to choose one, I would keep JT. The question though is tied to getting back a star player. If the star player was Boozer, I would give up JT, if the star was Amare, I would not give up JT and instead opt for Spencer since Amare can play the 5. If we trade for a star PG or SF and we HAD to give up JT or Spence, I would begrudgingly choose to let Hawes go. JT can play the 5 if need be so it would be easier to draft or trade for a “decent” player at EITHER the PF or center position. If we let JT go, we would basically be forced to find a power forward.

Even in the best case scenarios Hawes would still be a limited player. He has shown some encouraging signs of being a passable-to-good shotblocker, but he doesn’t show any promise whatsoever on the glass, and he’s limited athletically.

He’s got more athleticism than Miller, but not much more. I didn’t like that movie the first time I saw it.

is very likely to become a reality for GP – as was debated breifly in that thread yesterday.

Do you give up one or the other to land a Star?

I was an affirmative Yes, with a preference for giving up Hawes for the reasons I stated above. Its easier to build around a more traditional position player.

Ya gotta give up something you’d rather not to get something good.
 (Gasol example an aggregious exception)

by the thinnest of margins. It’s easy to forget that Hawes is actually younger than JT, and early in this season he was looking pretty darned good. Somehow, though, JT has managed to grow in spite of being on a bad team, while Hawes seems presently stymied.

Like I said, razor thin.

Only cuz. I hate the question, and I think it’s inane. I don’t want Amare Stoudemire under any circumstances. Rant finished.

At this point I trade neither for a “star”. It’s too early. If we trade for an Amare or Boozer now, I think it puts us right back where we were last season. A mediocre team drafting in the late lottery.

I’d rather be bad for one more season, maybe two, and make this decision then. The decision should be clearer then and we’ll have a better idea of where we should be looking for that “star” to put us over the top.

And that’s what trading for a star should do, put you over the top, not raise you up to mediocrity. Obtaining a star to become mediocre is a surefire way to a). loose them thru free agency and b). cripple your ability to rebuild thru the draft.

Mostly because Hawes is an unrepentant Bush-lover. But also because Thompson is already my favorite player in the league, and my gut tells me that this kid is going to be a real star someday. I mean truly great. My gut hasn’t made up it’s mind yet on Spencer’s fate.

To Spencer’s defense, he has never experienced long periods of 30+ minutes, except last season’s end, this season’s start and the awkward time during the ivory towers (which was about 28 mins per game). He always had Brad as the main C next to him or in front of him. Hawes still hasn’t received the minutes he deserves to be able to show what he’s got. JT on the other hand, has been given this opportunity a month ago and proved his talent.

This is an unfair battle. I know JT looks the better man right now but the center position is the most sensitive in basketball (along with the PG). And you don’t get in every draft talented 7 footers who can block 2 shots per game and average about 13-9 (given the time) while they are still 20 years old.

However, the wisest and most obvious thing Petrie should do is trade Brad right now and give Hawes 35 mins until the end of the season. Then we’ll have a good view of what Hawes really is and summer would be a good time to choose between him or JT.

For the sake of the poll.. I pick JT to go now.

staying would be my preference, although he’s no sure thing either.

Anybody who knows me on this site knows that I’m not much of a believer in Spencer’s long term potential. Because he’s not very athletic he’ll always be a very limited player on defense. That is a HUGE problem for the Kings, moving forward. His history of injury at such a young age is also a concern.

Thompson shows flashes of being a very good all around player. I’d be a little bummed if he was traded this early on. If Hawes was moved however, I’d see that as recognition that we need interior defense if we’re ever going to get back into position as an elite team.

Love the post – it is the stuff that makes great blog sites great. Unanswerable debates

I am confideant that mentally – and I like both of these young’uns – I give the nod to SHawes. The guy is a fighter, he has a chip on his shoulder to prove himself and impove his game. He is smart – he listens and works on his faults. That is not in contrast to JT – he needs to read the defense better and react better but he is a rookie – tough to call what he will learn and how fast.

Skills: Shawes has a great set of offense tools – in fact, he has the complete set; low post moves (needs work but doesn’t have the body, yet) outside shooting, 3 point shooting (not Nowitzki, but I can see Okur) and passing. Very Euro. JT has low post moves, nice mid-range jumper and rebounding on the offensive end. Average passer.

Athletecisim: SHawes is a younger body, and has average hops and speed. Reflexs, average. Strenght – needs work. Hands – good. Footwork – very good. Uses his lengh well. I look forward to seeing him in 2-3 years. JT has very good jump, and is a fast jumper. Reflexes very good. Hands – very good. Footwork needs improvement but is above average for a rookie. Decent handle.The kid is strong.

In summary – skills and smarts I give the nod to SHawes, Athletecism, defense and positional significance (JT can become a prototypical 4, SHawes is a Euro Center – not a power 4 or 5) I like JT. I think it is harder to get true position player than not for the 1, 4 and 5 spots. But I picked SHawes because as a BBall player, I just like him better. That is only because it is a coin flip and I did not want to call “Edges”. Oh, and by the way, I am usually wrong with my predictions. (I didn’t invest in cell phones because I could not understand for the life of me why anyone want to have a phone with them all the time)

Martin and Garcia had a good coach, an offense that had been run for years, veterans to learn from, and they still took 3+ years to develop into something. Spence and Thompson really don’t have any of that. The chaos that has been the last few years has not helped out either of these guys. I chose JT simply because of the past injuries to Hawes.