Tyrus Thomas is dead set on getting back into the NBA
Ready to read a name you probably haven't heard in a little while? Seriously, get ready. Make sure you can handle this.
Good to go? OK, let's do this:
Tyrus Thomas.
And what's so special about the No. 4 overall pick from the 2006 draft who hasn't earned any NBA contract other than a 10-day since the then-Bobcats amnestied him in 2013? According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, he's putting a comeback tour in full force:
There was more trickery than anything else during the first seven years of Thomas' career. The Bulls thought he'd be a far better player when they drafted him out of LSU with the fourth pick in 2006. Of course, that didn't work out, though he did make a major leap during his final year in Chicago, a big enough one to get the Bobcats to sign him to a five-year, $40 million deal.
Of course, that contract was immediately regrettable. Thomas didn't bring the best play or attitude with him to Charlotte, and general manager Rich Cho ended up using his amnesty provision on the big man in 2013.
If Thomas can make any sort of comeback, it'd be one of the best redemption stories in the NBA. But other than his words, we haven't seen any tangible signs of progress yet.
(h/t Basketball Insiders)
“Physically, I’m doing fine now,” Thomas said. “I’m in San Antonio training and just the biggest thing right now for me has just been conditioning and strength, just getting back to 100 percent.
“In hindsight, when I signed with Memphis, I think I was only at about 50 percent. So right now, it’s been just getting my body all the way where it needs to be with strength, weights and conditioning. That’s really my main focus right now and if I can get those things where I want them to be, the other things won’t be so hard.”
“I talked to my agent and we are just trying to see what’s the best fit,” Thomas said of his training camp options. “I would love to be on a training camp roster. What I do understand is that now I have to take a different path than [in the past] and a different path than I’m used to. I’m sure that I’ll be healthy enough to do what I have to do to make a team if I do make a training camp roster.”
