Kenny Thomas

Thomas averaged 1.4 ppg last season, making him completely irrelevant.

It’s difficult to determine how much Thomas will fit into Theus’ plans. The 31-year-old is simply too inconsistent. He started 50 of the 62 games he played at power forward, but it was Abdur-Rahim that received more time. When he’s playing efficiently, he’s productive at both ends of the court - able to run, rebound, and defend. Although he’s undersized (6-7) for the power position, he’s athletic enough to get his shot off against taller opponents (48.2 percent field goal percentage) and quick enough to rebound well against larger ones. But, it stops there. He’s not dynamic enough to rely on, so he’ll never be more than a fourth scoring option. If he plays a large dose of minutes for his new coach, he may be a cheap source of rebounds (10.8 per 40 minutes per game last year). If his playing time varies, don’t bother.

At only 6-7, Thomas is an undersized power forward, but he uses his strength, quickness, and a high-energy motor to produce consistently. Thomas began last season as a backup, but an injury to Shareef Abdur-Rahim opened the door for Thomas to move into the starting lineup, and he held onto the job even after Abdur-Rahim returned. Thomas is a lunch-pail nightly double-double threat, averaging 10.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game once he entered the starting line-up. He shoots a solid percentage from the field (52%) and contributes with 1.2 spg as a starter, but doesn’t have much all-around fantasy game. Still, as a rebounding role-player Thomas can be useful so long as he gets the minutes.

An athletic role player who plays hard every time he steps on the court, Thomas can back up both forward positions -- and even center on occasion -- and is a monster on the boards. He adds depth to the Kings and can also fill in nicely as a starter, as he demonstrated last year after the Webber trade, almost averaging a double-double with 14.5 PPG and 8.7 RPG. Once you are past the echelon of stars, Thomas is a good draft choice in deeper leagues.

Like most of his Sixer teammates, Thomas suffered from a series of injuries last season. If he can stay healthy this year, he's a near-lock for 14 points and 10 boards a game, with an occasional scoring outburst in the 25-30 range. Please note: "If he can stay healthy" is a clause that is required - by law - to be included in every preseason writeup involving the Sixers.

Re-signing Thomas was the Sixers' top offseason priority. He was a force at times last season, posting a 20 rebound game against Orlando and leading the team in boards during the playoffs. He's also apparently one of AI's favorite teammates, which can't hurt.