JT Thor: A chance to show he belongs in the NBA
Thor is a low-risk, high-reward gamble for the Cavaliers.
Finding someone at a position of need who has some upside without using any cap space is a win even if the gamble doesn’t pay off. Koby Altman and the Cleveland Cavaliers front office took a low-risk swing on 22-year-old, 6’10” power forward JT Thor by signing him to a two-way deal. He will be splitting his time with the Cavs and their G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge.
How much upside Thor has remains to be seen. The former second-round pick was given a decent amount of playing time with the Charlotte Hornets the last three seasons as he appeared in 165 games. Thor didn’t exactly make the most of his opportunity as he averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds with a 49.6 effective field goal percentage in 12.2 minutes per game since being in the league.
Thor will need to do a better job of capitalizing on his chance in Cleveland. Upping his intensity is a good way for him to do that.
“I want to see his motor consistent,” Charge general manager Liron Fanan said. “He’s such a great guy off the court, but I want to see the dog in him more on the court which I know he has.”
No single stat can neatly sum up this concern. However, the inconsistencies with finishing at the rim point to him not always showing toughness in that paint. Thor converted just 60% of his looks in the restricted area last season which placed him in the 16th percentile for bigs. This also points to a lack of strength which is a concern for someone currently listed at 203 pounds at his height.
“Like a lot of young players, he can get stronger,” Charge head coach Chris Darnell said. “And if he does get stronger, that’ll help him finish drives at the rim, defensive rebounding, and things like that.”
Thor has also shown flashes of being a promising outside shooter. He’s connected on 34.6% of his threes last season on 1.3 attempts per contest. The Cavs would like to see him continue to take more of those shots during his time with the Charge.
Cleveland has a clear need at backup center. They will likely head into the season with just three players on the active roster who can provide minutes there. Thor would be the fourth when he’s with the Cavs.
Thor will likely play a similar role to what Mamadi Diakite did for Cleveland two seasons ago. Diakite started a couple of games when one of their centers was hurt while playing spot minutes when the matchup called for it. Thor could fulfill a similar need but does possess a slightly higher ceiling than Diakite due to his physical attributes.
Thor wouldn’t have fallen to the Cavs on a two-way deal if teams thought he had considerable untapped potential. It’s unlikely that Thor blossoms into a quality rotation big, but these are the type of dice rolls you’d like to take with one of your three two-way roster spots. Decent defenders of Thor’s size who show glimpses of being a reliable outside shooter are rare and incredibly valuable.
The Cavaliers have a need that the best version of Thor would cleanly fill. The question is whether he can show enough signs in training camp and throughout the regular season that would lead you to believe he could be a long-term option.