By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

STOCKTON — Prior to the NBA draft in June, the rumor mill was consistently churning out talk that Rider big man Jason Thompson would wind up playing an up-tempo style in Northern California.

But that was supposed to happen in Oakland, not Sacramento.

At 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds, Thompson had the size the Warriors lacked. And as a do-everything star for the Rider Broncos of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Thompson showed the versatility — and range on his jump shot — that seemed to make him a natural big man for Don Nelson’s system.

Except the Kings stepped in at No. 12 and snatched him up, two spots before the Warriors. The Warriors, who were giddy about the prospect of having LSU’s Anthony Randolph drop to them at No. 14, did nothing to dissuade the impression that their interest in Thompson was meant to drive up his value and help them acquire Randolph.

But even though the 19-year-old Randolph may be the better player when both their careers are done, there’s no doubt that Thompson, 22, is the one who will contribute immediately to his NBA team.

“He’s been very good,” Kings coach Reggie Theus said. “He’s learning a lot, he can play multiple positions. I think he’s exactly what we thought he would be.”

Thompson said he wasn’t fazed by all the pre-draft talk.

“There’s always going to be rumors, but I just stayed focused,” Thompson said. “It would have been a great opportunity anywhere I went. I kind of had that up and down style, and people said I would fit in (with the Warriors), but we do the same thing here. Once we get the rebound, we’re out.”

This is a drastic change for a Kings team that had long been dominated by half-court specialists such as Mike Bibby and then Ron Artest. But with Bibby in Atlanta, Artest in Houston and a remaining roster devoid of significant post-up threats, Theus decided to dip back into his own history as a player, as chronicled by the Sacramento Bee, and speed things up a notch or three.

There were elements on display Wednesday against the Clippers that would be familiar to any Warriors fan: Fast breaks after made buckets by the opposition, big men dribbling the ball upcourt, a constant search for runners leaking out ahead of the defense for easy points.

“It’s a way I like to play, but it’s more (about) personnel,” Theus said. “They’re making a little bit more of it than it is. We want to play up-tempo, but we’re not running and gunning. We want to push the basketball because our bigs are not great post players, so we’ve got to get them the ball in transition down in the blocks when there’s less help around them.”

That includes Thompson, who started at power forward Wednesday while incumbent Mikki Moore got the night off. Thompson’s 18-minute stint — which led to six points and rebounds — showed some promise but also exposed areas that need polishing.

He grabbed a couple of nice rebounds in traffic and also completed a nifty spin move to earn a trip to the line. But he wasn’t able to establish low-block position on the Clippers’ Paul Davis very effectively, and Davis had an all-too-easy tap-in when Thompson failed to box him out.

“He’s starting to be more aggressive, and that’s what we need him to do,” Kings guard Kevin Martin said of Thompson. “They told me when I started playing a lot, not to always look to score for yourself but be aggressive for other teammates, and that’s what he’s doing, helping our post players like Brad and Spence, open things up for them. That’s what he can do at his size.”

Theus has talked about playing Thompson at center in a small-ball configuration, but Thompson also logged several minutes at small forward Wednesday alongside Spencer Hawes at the 5 and Shelden Williams at the 4.

“The more positions he talks about, the more playing time he brings up, it’s just more opportunities for me,” Thompson said. “I don’t feel like if you’re (labeled as) one position, that you’re that stereotype. Like, ‘5-men are just guys who are stiff.’ I can play the 3, I can play the 4 as well, and if I’m playing the 5 and have to guard a 5, then I’ll do that, too.”

Contact: geofflepper@48minutes.net