After Chicago’s series-opening loss to the Bucks, NBA big man Tristan Thompson found himself in the crosshairs of former point guard, Brandon Jennings.
Speaking on Twitter, the former Bucks player trashed Thompson’s game and insisted that we’ve all been fooled to believe he’s a solid player.
“Bulls was playing great till they picked up Tristan Thompson but y’all don’t wanna say that!
And yes y’all had injuries but y’all was still hooping!
Y’all let that Cavs run he had fool y’all”
In Cleveland, Tristan Thompson was a pretty big player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who took home a title in 2016. Next to LeBron James and an experienced core, he was able to thrive and prove himself as one of the best offensive rebounders in the game. Unfortunately, Cleveland moved on in 2020 (when he signed with Boston), and Thompson hasn’t been the same since.
Thompson, 31, is now on his fourth team in two years. He was traded to Sacramento in the summer of 2021, and he stayed there for some time with the role of leading and mentoring a young and frustrated Kings team. He wouldn’t last long there, but he did get to make a pretty passionate speech about finding motivation.
“It’s not about Coach Walton inspiring you,” Thompson told the media (via Matt George of ABC10). “I don’t need no f–king coach to inspire me – never have, never will. The day I need a coach to inspire me is the day I’m f–king retiring. I speak with my teammates with that quote. We don’t need a coach to inspire us. This is the NBA. No one’s going to feel sorry for you,” Thompson said, per Jason Anderson of sacbee.com. “C-Webb and Bibby ain’t coming through that door, so you’ve got to keep pushing each and every day. Keep getting better in practice, keep watching the film, learn from your mistakes.”
Thompson was passed to Indiana before finally landing with the Bulls. In 23 games with Chicago, his play wasn’t the best. He averaged just 5.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks per game on 56% shooting.
In Game 1 against Milwaukee, he put up just 2 rebounds and 2 assists in a little over 7 minutes of action.
Clearly, TT hasn’t been much of a difference-maker in Chicago, but he’s far from the only problem. If the Bulls really want to pull off this upset, figuring out what to do with Thompson is only part of the equation.
