Errick McCollum thinks Darius Thompson will be a better fit for Efes than Micic / News - Basketnews.com

URBONUS' co-host Errick McCollum thinks Darius Thompson might even be a better fit in Efes than Vasilije Micic.

Credit: Credit EuroLeague | BasketNews Illustration Credit Credit EuroLeague | BasketNews Illustration

Has Anadolu Efes Istanbul found the perfect replacement for Vasilije Micic following his departure to the NBA?

Vasilije Micic

Position:PG, SGAge:29Height:195 cmWeight:92 kgBirth place:Kraljevo, SerbiaProfileNewsStatistics

As BasketNews reported, the Turkish league champions have secured a three-year deal with Darius Thompson, who is posed to become Efes' new floor general.

Errick McCollum, co-host of the URBONUS podcast, analyzed why Thompson was the ideal solution to fill Micic's shoes for Efes.

"With Shane [Larkin], you have to put a taller guard, so defensively, you don't have to wear out all his energy," McCollum said. "You want to keep him explosive. You want to keep him in attack mode. You want to keep him being Shane Larkin. So if you get a guard who has the size defensively and can also do the playmaking, it takes away a lot of the stress from having to carry a load."

"It allows him to be the scorer. He allows Clyburn to be the score he is. Darius is the guy who can make everything go," he added.

In McCollum's view, alongside scorers like Larkin and Clyburn, Thompson might even be a better fit than Vasilije Micic.

"I think he'll be a better fit than Vasa with that trio only because he can play off the ball. He doesn't need to play with the ball down," McCollum highlighted, praising his former teammate. "He played with Marcus Howard. He played with me. He's used to ball-dominant guards. He's used to finding a way to make it work."

"I think that was the problem with Efes this year," he added. "There were so many great players, so many options with those three, that it kind of took away because they're all better with the ball."

"Will is the one that can play without the ball, but even this year, he was excellent with it. So it's kind of like, what do you do? But with Darius, he gives you that balance, that size, and athleticism," McCollum said before providing a bold comparison.

"As I said before, I think he's like Nick Calathes in his prime during those Panathinaikos years. But he shoots it better, almost a 40 three-point shooter, he's extremely athletic, and he's that type of defender.

Nick is a good defender and good passer, so he's like that. Obviously, he has to continue to evolve. Nick is one of the best passers I've seen in the pick-and-roll. But he reminds me of an athletic, better shooting version of Nick Calathes, which is scary," he admitted.

"Darius Thompson is the perfect choice. I don't even like to say it because I feel like Efes has listened to me, and we already lost to them in the finals, so I don't want to make the team better,"he chuckled at the end of his analysis.

In his rookie season, Thompson led the EuroLeague in assists per game with 6.7, achieving double-digit assists in nine games and surpassing all guards with six double-doubles.

He also topped the EuroLeague in total points scored and points generated from his assists during the second half of the season (per BBallytics).

Thompson also averaged 12.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, earning him the eighth-best performance index rating (PIR) of 17.1 and a spot on the All-EuroLeague second team.

Watch the entire URBONUS podcast with Kevin Punter and Errick McCollum:

Like what we are doing? You can express your gratitude here.