[From the Diaries. Big thanks to sbulls9030, as I didn't follow the summer league much this year. Thanks for picking up the slack, this is good stuff. -Matt]

I watched all five summer leagues games.  It was crazy to watch all five, but it is the only Bulls action until preseason and I wanted to get a look at Thabo and Tyrus to see with my own eyes how accurate the scouting reports were.

Statistics for the 5 games: http://www.nba.com/media/magic/06slstats_bulls.pdf

Thabo played only 2 games due to a hip flexor, but he was impressive in those two games.  Thabo played particulary well in the specfic ways the Bulls need him to contribute.  On defense he created turnovers and defended well.  On offense he showed enough handle and court awareness to play the 1 alongside Gordon.  Finally, he showed the athletic ability to finish at the hoop in transition or in the half court.  He finished at the rim with either hand and knocked down his jumpers when he was set or moving to to his left off 1 or 2 dribbles.  His major flaw was making to many passes on the interior that would not work in the NBA.  Just the thought of Tyson fumbling Thabo's feeds the way Luke S. did makes me feel better about the trade. Overall, he looked ready to contribute in his defined role.

After watching Tyrus play five games some of the negative comparisons that were made to Tyson Chandler stood out.  They stood out because Ty2 may actually be a version of what Ty1 was supposed to be. An explosive 4 with the ability to impact the game on defense and face up on offense with a mid-range jumpshot and the ability to slash to the basket.  I think the best comparison is probably Antonio McDyess before the injuries.  McDyess coming into the league was very similar to Tyrus in size, ability, and background.

The most surprising thing he showed was his passing ability.  Particularly late in the week, he made some really nice passes.  He struggled with turnovers, but by the end of the week he was much better.  He made his jumpshot consistently with his momentum taking him toward the basket.  He could make pullup jumpers off the dribble, even going glass at times.  His turnaround jumper was awful, he managed to get it blocked several times.  If you eliminate the bad jump shots then shooting % whould have been decent.  Whenever he tried to fade away, he missed often badly.  When he took jump shots like a 4 he was successful, he really struggled when he tried to play like McGrady.

He could drive and force fouls consistently and finish even with contact.  He always tried to drive left and then spin back to his right if he met resistance.  I never saw him drive right to the basket any of the five games.  He's uses alot of effort and isn't always under control on his drives.  He tried several jump hooks and other post moves unsucessfully, and didn't show any touch with those shots.  His most effective post move was spinning hard right and going for the dunk, which worked several times.

On defense, he was active and made some fantastic blocks from the weak side.  He also made alot of fantastic goal tends.  His rebounding was solid, but not dominate.  In a couple games, he made a poor decisions on when to double team.  He'll have to become better at understanding defensive assignments.

Summary:
Thabo appeared ready to meet the team's expectations, particuarly because of the poise he played with right from the start of the 1st game.  All he has to do is defend, run the floor, and take what's given to him offensively as the 4th or 5th option on the floor.

Tyrus showed the skills necessary to contribute and earn minutes.  If he is willing to play within his abilities then he is going to earn PT.  I doubt Tyrus will ever be a superstar small forward, that some people have projected him as.  At this point, players are either fluid offensively and have the necessary shooting touch or they don't.  Tyrus doesn't have it, but he can be an all-star level player just by being what Tyson Chandler was supposed to be or what McDyess was.  For this year, he apparently just has to be as good as Darius Songaila.