Thon Maker

[Koponen]

Maybe 290. Dwight Howard is around 280 and Embiid is 2" taller with a similar build now.

I was just pointing out that he hasn't "blown up" or "lost his agility", at least not because of weight gain (perhaps because of injury, but recent video of him suggests otherwise). He's not Eddy Curry.

[Envelope]

Maybe 290. Dwight Howard is around 280 and Embiid is 2" taller with a similar build now.

I was just pointing out that he hasn't "blown up" or "lost his agility", at least not because of weight gain (perhaps because of injury, but recent video of him suggests otherwise). He's not Eddy Curry.

Yeah we'll see what his agility looks like when he comes back, but 40 lbs even of muscle will affect anybody's agility. And with the two full years of immobility, all the more so.

I'd still take him over Maker, because true center size like that is hard to find, especially combined with his talent.

But Thon at PF will have just as much of a length advantage at PF as Embiid will at C, and Thon will have the long term versatility to play PF and C.

It'll be interesting to see if Embiid and Okafor can exist on the court at the same time. I'm guessing not, though at 240 or even 260 lbs I would have guessed Embiid would have enough agility to make such a pairing work.

[El Turco]

Anthony didn't have Maker's intangibles, and immigrant work ethic.

You should be selling penny shares my man.. You're wasted on here!!

Are you saying Anthony Randolph had good intangibles and a good work ethic?

Just compare Maker's intangibles and work ethic to Embiid's. Embiid will be lucky to still have any agility left since he blew up to 300+ lbs.

embiid is an immigrant as well, he must have great work ethic according to your little theory

[Deadpool Raptor]

The issue with Thon Maker is he is not good. Has he ever had a truly good camp? Guy is so over-hyped it is ridiculous, also it's no lock he is eligible.

The way you started this made me laugh. Thanks.

[OrlChamps2030]

Was Thon really as bad in high school as some are saying? You'd think a 19 year old 7 footer with ball skills and athleticism would dominate HS

[Deadpool Raptor]

.

This,

Forget the ball handling and the round the back/crossover mixtapes.

He's an athletic 7 footer who can block shots, rebound, run the floor and has the makings of a jumpshot. The fact he can maybe occasionally take his guy off the dribble or grab the board and run is just an added bonus. If his head is screwed on correctly and an NBA coach decides to develop him strictly as an athletic C, he's got a fantastic future. If he tries to play SF and cross guys over, he's headed to China in a few years.

Hopefully he can blossom as a PF

4's have to shoot 3's and play D at the 3 pt line away from the basket. I don't know anything about the draft. Can this player do those things?

[cellar-door]

Was Thon really as bad in high school as some are saying? You'd think a 19 year old 7 footer with ball skills and athleticism would dominate HS

He was pretty good against the Canadian competition. The problem was that scouts feel like he didn't significantly improve from 16 to 19 and didn't dominate against younger competition at the camps and summits where he played other real prospects.

[Envelope]

Here's another game tape from this year. They're hard to find, that's only the second game I've found from this year

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00vomHTSxBs[/youtube]

[Envelope]

This,

Forget the ball handling and the round the back/crossover mixtapes.

He's an athletic 7 footer who can block shots, rebound, run the floor and has the makings of a jumpshot. The fact he can maybe occasionally take his guy off the dribble or grab the board and run is just an added bonus. If his head is screwed on correctly and an NBA coach decides to develop him strictly as an athletic C, he's got a fantastic future. If he tries to play SF and cross guys over, he's headed to China in a few years.

Hopefully he can blossom as a PF

4's have to shoot 3's and play D at the 3 pt line away from the basket. I don't know anything about the draft. Can this player do those things?

I think he can. The high school game is so compact, and he's always playing center so there's not a ton of footage of him defending in space.

Here's one new scouting report that touches on it though:
http://www.powerrankingsandmore.com/thon-maker-2016-nba-draft-discussion/

under Strengths:

Mobility
Thon is outstandingly quick and agile. Whether he is taking the isolation dribble or playing perimeter defense, pros will not be able to dance their way around him like they would most 7 footers.

Elsewhere in the scouting report:

Defense
An intriguingly same discussion was made about Kristaps Porzingis last year before the 2015 NBA Draft. Yes he can do some work defending on the perimeter. Yes he is a gifted shot blocker. Maaaayyybeee he can be a good defender in the paint?? The common problem is he does not have much body to work with in lane when he gets bumping with some of the heavier players in the league. Zach Randolph comes to mind as a guy who would best be able to show this as a weakness. Observations about Kristaps from this season show it was not as big of a deal as was made last June. Hopefully this one Pron does not make a fool of many GMs on draft day.

Here's a mock draft that has your Raptors drafting him at 9.
https://mostvaluablepodcasts.com/2016/04/16/2016-nba-draft-sean-anderson-nba-mock-draft-3-0/

9. Toronto Raptors (via Nuggets)

Thon Maker, F, Australia

I’m not a huge believer in Thon Maker, however his potential is undeniable. Thon can sit in Toronto and develop his potential and come up to a playoff team. Thon needs to get stronger and do a lot of tightening to his game, but a 7’0 footer who can shoot from deep and handle to ball is a sight to see.

Here's another long, in depth scouting report. It just says that Maker mostly defended in the paint
http://inthegymrange.com/2016-nba-draft-prospects-thon-maker-monday-april-18-2016

Defensively, Maker mostly stayed in the paint. He exhibited solid shot-blocking and rebounding ability at this level. There were a couple of instances, where Game Elite’s forwards were able to get into his body and make close range shots. Projected 2016 Lottery pick Jaylen Brown did this twice to Maker during this contest. In fairness to Maker, Brown did this to almost everyone he played against at the high school level. The big question defensively is who will he guard at the next level. To start, he will probably have to guard 4’s, but in time he might be able to guard 5’s once he gains added strength and bulk. I bolded might, for good reason. Maker is on the thin side, and one would expect just with naturally getting older, he will be able to add the needed strength and bulk.

[Witzig-Okashi]

This link is two weeks old, but it may provide some voices that have been previously unheard from scouts (even if the sentiments are matched from others):

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/04/05/thon-maker-nba-draft-analysis-prospects

[Envelope]

This link is two weeks old, but it may provide some voices that have been previously unheard from scouts (even if the sentiments are matched from others):

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/04/05/thon-maker-nba-draft-analysis-prospects

Anon Scout #1: "I tried to watch him and then I tried to go back and watch Kevin Durant in high school. This kid has some things where you're like, 'maybe.' But Kevin Durant you knew was a sure shot. I don't see that in this kid."

Classic example of people only focusing on his offense, and only comparing him to offensive superstars. He's held to a totally different standard from any other prospect, especially defense-first prospects.

[cellar-door]

This link is two weeks old, but it may provide some voices that have been previously unheard from scouts (even if the sentiments are matched from others):

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/04/05/thon-maker-nba-draft-analysis-prospects

Anon Scout #1: "I tried to watch him and then I tried to go back and watch Kevin Durant in high school. This kid has some things where you're like, 'maybe.' But Kevin Durant you knew was a sure shot. I don't see that in this kid."

Classic example of people only focusing on his offense, and only comparing him to offensive superstars. He's held to a totally different standard from any other prospect, especially defense-first prospects.

huh?
That isn't only focusing on offense, that is saying, when compared to a similarly hyped high school player he saw Durant develop to where he felt he was a sure thing, but Maker hasn't done that for him. He's not comparing their games, he's comparing their development curves.

You left out the rest of the quote which made it more clear that he was talking about how he saw him over a 2+ year stretch and didn't see the kind of improvement you would expect.

[Envelope]

This link is two weeks old, but it may provide some voices that have been previously unheard from scouts (even if the sentiments are matched from others):

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/04/05/thon-maker-nba-draft-analysis-prospects

Anon Scout #1: "I tried to watch him and then I tried to go back and watch Kevin Durant in high school. This kid has some things where you're like, 'maybe.' But Kevin Durant you knew was a sure shot. I don't see that in this kid."

Classic example of people only focusing on his offense, and only comparing him to offensive superstars. He's held to a totally different standard from any other prospect, especially defense-first prospects.

huh?
That isn't only focusing on offense, that is saying, when compared to a similarly hyped high school player he saw Durant develop to where he felt he was a sure thing, but Maker hasn't done that for him. He's not comparing their games, he's comparing their development curves.

You left out the rest of the quote which made it more clear that he was talking about how he saw him over a 2+ year stretch and didn't see the kind of improvement you would expect.

Come on, give it up. Do you think after watching WCStein's high school tape this guy rushed to watch Kevin Durant high school tape to compare it? Maker is a 7'1" PF/C, and inspired an NBA scout to re-watch Durant HS tape to compare him. That in itself is a huge compliment to a PF/C, but this scout is too caught up in comparing Maker negatively to Durant to say anything good about Maker.

How many PF/Cs compel NBA scouts to re-watch Durant high school tape to compare him?

A lot of people are about to look really stupid. Lucky for this guy he made his lame "analysis" anonymously.

[Envelope]

If people took 5 minutes to think about how Maker is likely to develop in the future, they'd quickly realize that long term, Maker will be like a much taller Lamar Odom at the center position, without the passing brilliance.

A center who can take the ball up the court, and who can pump fake from 15-24 feet and dribble drive to the basket, and drive and dish. How many centers can do that? Cousins, Porzingis, maybe 2-3 others.

People saying "he needs to work on his ball handling". As if his ball handling isn't near elite for a PF/C. As if they would ever think to say that WCS or Noel need to work on their ball handling, as if that was the key to their NBA careers being a success or not.

What's funny is nobody is going to remember talking **** about Maker. They'll say, "of course I knew he was going to be good, that's why I watched Durant tape after".

[Envelope]

This is what Givony/Draft Express said about Porzingis last June:

At 7-1, with a frail frame, and the shooting stroke of a guard, Porzingis doesn't have a crystal clear role in the NBA right now, at least not in a traditional sense, and certainly not in the short term. If his first coach in the NBA doesn't appreciate his skill-set, and isn't ready to be patient and work through his limitations, he could struggle badly to get minutes early on. Getting with the right coach, roster and organization who can develop him will play a huge role in the success he has in the NBA.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Kristaps-Porzingis-7119/


This renowned expert was "certain" that there wasn't a clear role for Porzingis in the short term. He couldn't fathom that Porzingis could gain some weight in the coming months and step in as the stud starting PF for an NBA team.


People always think that Player X is "Years Away" if they are on the skinny side in May/June. It never occurs to them that the player can gain weight in the MONTHS before the season starts. It's just a foreign concept.

I'm not saying that Maker could start from Day 1 as a rookie, because he has about 10 years less experience than Porzingis had, but there's probably a role off the bench waiting for him. He just won't be asked to play like a power forward. He'll be asked to play like Nerlens Noel or Kendrick Perkins. That is, defensive specialist who the offense doesn't run through at all.

Just to hard a concept to grasp, I suppose. Like Porzingis being NBA ready as a rookie.

[jpengland]

Anon Scout #1: "I tried to watch him and then I tried to go back and watch Kevin Durant in high school. This kid has some things where you're like, 'maybe.' But Kevin Durant you knew was a sure shot. I don't see that in this kid."

Classic example of people only focusing on his offense, and only comparing him to offensive superstars. He's held to a totally different standard from any other prospect, especially defense-first prospects.

huh?
That isn't only focusing on offense, that is saying, when compared to a similarly hyped high school player he saw Durant develop to where he felt he was a sure thing, but Maker hasn't done that for him. He's not comparing their games, he's comparing their development curves.

You left out the rest of the quote which made it more clear that he was talking about how he saw him over a 2+ year stretch and didn't see the kind of improvement you would expect.

Come on, give it up. Do you think after watching WCStein's high school tape this guy rushed to watch Kevin Durant high school tape to compare it? Maker is a 7'1" PF/C, and inspired an NBA scout to re-watch Durant HS tape to compare him. That in itself is a huge compliment to a PF/C, but this scout is too caught up in comparing Maker negatively to Durant to say anything good about Maker.

How many PF/Cs compel NBA scouts to re-watch Durant high school tape to compare him?

A lot of people are about to look really stupid. Lucky for this guy he made his lame "analysis" anonymously.

The crux will be what player Thon Maker wants to be and what player the team that drafts him want him to be.

If they can both see sense and develop into a floor running, rim protecting big with some shooting range and handles to take guys off the dribble/closeout then he can be a genuine difference maker, and probably relatively quickly.

If one, or both, see him as a Kevin Durant type player, he will be out of the league in 3 years.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

I think the bigger question that every person that has posted in this thread is this - Is Envelope related to Thon Maker, Thon Maker's agent, or Thon Maker himself? Discuss.

[TKainZero]

Definatly the most polarizing prospect in years...

Anywhere from 3-60 he could get drafted

[janmagn]

I hope he's availeble when the Clippers pick in the early 2nd

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[Envelope]

nbadraft.net made an interesting observation in their newest extended mock draft:

his legs and hips are extremely stiff. He does not get much lift when he faces contact, and the added strength to his upperbody has noticeably slowed his mobility and explosiveness.

His hips do seem a bit stiff in this game tape from this year. Hard to know how much of that is his failure to bend his knees when defending in space (which is fairly rare since he plays center), and how much of it is a permanent stiffness of hips. He's still more agile than Myles Turner, and faster up and down the court, but yeah, Maker is no WCS as far as agility.

But I still see him as some variation of Myles Turner, probably a bit less automatic as a jump shooter, but a better ball handler and scorer off the dribble. Both are a very very valuable type to have, elite rim protecting PF/Cs who can stretch the floor and open up the paint for the guards to attack the rim unimpeded.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOZF-JIrCRc[/youtube]

http://www.nbadraft.net/2016-extended-nba-mock-40