Jazz Sign Malcolm Thomas Off Waivers

Photos by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images

The Utah Jazz picked up Malcolm Thomas off of waivers Saturday, two days after the San Antonio Spurs waived him on Thursday. Thomas, a 6’9” power forward from San Diego St, brings the Jazz’s roster to the maximum of 15 players.

Some quick reactions to this move:

• Since he stayed on San Antonio’s roster beyond the contract guarantee date, his contract is guaranteed for the rest of the season. Because taking him off waivers means that the Jazz assume his current contract, Dennis Lindsey and staff must have felt they had competition for signing Thomas should he reached free agency.
• This means that Ian Clark would be the cheapest player for the Jazz to cut at this point, since they have already paid his $200,000 guaranteed amount in salary.
• PF is a position of relative strength for the Jazz, already having clear NBAers Marvin Williams, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Jeremy Evans capable of playing at that spot. However, only Marvin Williams of those 4 has the 3 point range that Malcolm Thomas has, perhaps the Jazz are looking to give Ty a second option to continue the successful lineups featuring a stretch 4.
• Draft Express’s player profile of Malcolm Thomas:
  

  The biggest question marks about Thomas revolve around his jump shot. Through Synergy data indicates that Thomas made just 6 of the 25 jumpers he attempted last season, Thomas has promising form that with continued polish and repetition could open up a number of facets of his game. He didn’t attempt too many jumpers here, but if he wants to improve his NBA stock, he’d be well served to diversify the roles he can play by honing his midrange game.

  Interesting that Thomas’ biggest weakness has become a big strength: he has shot 43% from the 3 point line in his 12 D-League games so far this season.

• Thomas’ 7’2” wingspan allows him to get a lot of blocks: he picked up 2 in 15 minutes of play in his only NBA game this season, and averaged 2.4 BPG in the D-League. He also has pretty elite athleticism: his 38.5 inch max vertical puts him only a half inch below where Gerald Green measured out in 2005.
• In short, he may be a player that fits the modern NBA pretty well: 3-point range, athletic defender.
• Malcolm Thomas and Journey have very similar outlooks on life:
  

  Never stop believing.

  — Malcolm Thomas (@Malcolm4Thomas) January 25, 2014