Is Tristan Thompson The Best No. 4 In The Last Six years?

When the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Tristan Thompson with the fourth pick in the 2011 draft, many were confused by the choice. Six years later, Thompson’s play has validated the Cavs pick.

Chris Grant received a bad rep as the Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager.

When Anthony Bennett, No. 1 draft pick in 2013, is attached to your GM resume, that tends to be a subsequence.

However, Grant does deserve some credit. He drafted Kyrie Irving back in 2011, when Derrick Williams was considered the secondary choice, and would have been validated as a No. 1 pick at the time. Additionally, 2011 was the year that Grant brought Thompson to Cleveland, a move ridiculed by many five years ago.

In fact, looking back at a number of mock drafts for the 2011 draft, and it becomes clear why Thompson was such a surprise selection. Bleacher Report had Thompson going 16^th, ESPN and Draft Express had him going eighth, and NBADraft.net had him slotted at the seventh pick. Only Sam Amick, who at the time was at Sports Illustrated, had Thompson going at pick four.

In a draft class that consists of names such as Irving, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Jonas Valanciunas, Jimmy Butler, Chandler Parsons and Isaiah Thomas, just to name a few, it’s tough to make an argument that Thompson was the fourth best player in the class.

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However, looking at the past history of players who were selected with the fourth overall pick, and it becomes clear Thompson has been one of the best.

Since 2010, the players chosen with the fourth pick have been Wesley Johnson, Thompson, Dion Waiters, Cody Zeller, Aaron Gordon, Kristaps Porzingis and Dragan Bender. Obviously Bender is excluded from this argument, as the Croatian has yet to debut.

To determine Thompson’s value against that crop of players, let’s take a look at his importance to this season’s Cavs, compared to the play of the other five players.

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Thompson was the third best player in the NBA Finals on the winning team, which is a fairly good return for a fourth pick. His rebounding, energy, defensive versatility and improving offensive game are all invaluable to Cleveland, and the drop in production is clear once Thompson comes to the bench.

With Thompson on the court during the regular season, the Cavs had a NET rating of +7.9, while in the playoffs that number leaped to +11.7. Conversely, when Thompson was off the court in the regular season, Cleveland had a NET rating of +3.1, while in the playoffs it was at +4.8.

Thompson provides the Cavaliers with a unique skill set that can’t be matched by any of their other bigs. As aforementioned, Thompson’s defensive versatility is unmatched. He has the length and quickness to switch onto a guard in the pick-and-roll game, while his underrated strength and wingspan allows him to be a solid post defender. His strong rebounding instincts also helps Thompson in the paint.

Per 100 possessions, Thompson’s averages were extremely impressive. He averaged 14.6 points, 16.7 rebounds, 6.1 offensive rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, while shooting 58.8 percent from the field. Those are All-Star worthy numbers and help validate Thompson’s selection at fourth overall.

Now, let’s take a look at Johnson’s career path.

The Syracuse product has bounced around the league, already suiting up with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.

This season, Johnson settled on a bench role with the Clippers, where he averaged just 6.9 points per game, which isn’t indicative of a fourth pick. Over his career, Johnson has averaged 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.8 percent from the field, so he clearly isn’t at Thompson’s level.

Cavalier fans will be very familiar with Waiters.

After being traded out of Cleveland due to a lack of fit with the LeBron James-led Cavs, Waiters has been solid with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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In the playoffs, the Thunder had a better NET rating with Waiters on the court, while he was also apart of the small-ball line-up that helped Oklahoma City take a shocking 3-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors. Although, there is a reason Thompson is still in Cleveland and Waiters isn’t, despite how comfortable Waiters has gotten as his career has progressed.

Zeller and Gordon are a pair of players who have potential, but whether or not they’ll reach Thompson’s level is highly debatable.

Zeller put up 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds this season, while Gordon averaged 9.2 points and 6.5 rebounds, with the latter showing incredible athleticism as the season progressed.

Finally, Porzingis is the only player that can hold a torch to what Thompson has achieved in his career thus far.

Becoming a cult hero with the New York Knicks, Porzingis put up 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in his rookie season, displaying a fantastic skill set and shooting ability for a 7-footer.

At the moment, it’s tough to take Thompson over Porzingis.

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On this Cavalier team though, Thompson has no doubt proven his worth, and validated his status as the fourth overall pick.