Is Thon Maker Going to Be Good, Bad or Ugly? (POLL)

[skones]

I don't understand why he's afraid to even dribble any more. It looked like he had some ballhandling skills coming in.

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Aside from the obvious carries and quality of competition, this must have been in a previous lifetime.

You could literally compile a highlight of somebody breaking somebody else's ankles at some point in time with every player in the entire league.

[Bernman]

Before the season, I've had people tell me I'm a conspiracy theorist or even just a flat out idiot for believing Thon was older than listed. Many of those same people now hate Thon and agree that he's older. Weird how that works.

Anybody who invokes the buzz-phrase "conspiracy theorist" as an inherent negative thing is a flat out idiot and dupe. They should look into the history of where that mainly started. It's a conspiracy in and of itself. And it's very conveniently not applied toward certain groups and others simply someone lying or having an ulterior motive is considered a crazy conspiracy theory. Something isn't outlandish simply because it involves a conspiracy or notable public figure. That comes down to simply the evidence and whether it's probable or not like anything. The way some apply conspiracy theory, the Bucks' organizational structure could be considered one going back to the 80's.

All that said, I hardly think Thon struggling vertically around the rim in the halfcourt is a sign he's aging. You don't lose that ability in your mid 20's, if he is indeed that old. He's never played nearly as tall as his vert. That was the case in high school too. The guy has body mechanic, coordination, and base issues. He can't finish through any sort of contact that doesn't exist on an empty court. He's sidetracked by trying to corral balls first before he rises. And if he's not heading in a straight line with how upright he is it's tough to explode.

As far as how he got generally worse from late in year 1 to year 2, it's because it was a small sample and he got figured out. That move last night on him from Drummond was prime example. Spastic Thon got too tight, and in the past Drummond may have panicked, but this time he was ready for it, took advantage of the over-pursuit to get to the rim and draw the foul. Jennings got worse after a good start also because the way he was playing was also unsustainable.

[TroyD92]

I don't understand why he's afraid to even dribble any more. It looked like he had some ballhandling skills coming in.

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Aside from the obvious carries and quality of competition, this must have been in a previous lifetime.

You could literally compile a highlight of somebody breaking somebody else's ankles at some point in time with every player in the entire league.

I bet Shaq at 350lbs could make some of those moves against HS competition.

[engelmartin]

You could literally compile a highlight of somebody breaking somebody else's ankles at some point in time with every player in the entire league.

I mean I understand that everyone looks good in their highlights. Thon literally just won't even take one dribble any more. It's like he's afraid to put the ball on the floor.

[paulpressey25]

Thon is more of a forward. Passable activity on defense. But offense is very limited and that can effect the defense at times.
His best chance to score is at the Forward, STRICTLY pick and pop all game, let it fly and let the other more physical Forward and Center (ie Giannis and Henson in the video) crash the boards and play inside. If you don't have the shot, dribble hand off into another pick and pop. Then if wide open sometimes you can Drive for the foul and free throws or score it.

Last year with the abundance of centers Thon actually did play the Forward at times. But he hasn't gotten any looks at the spot this year. I don't think anyone in the league sees Thon as a Center at all...but he has to play that position for the Bucks out of necessity, due to roster constraints.

In this article Coach Kidd even said he would start at the "small forward"

https://www.foxsports.com.au/basketball/nba/thon-maker-earns-first-nba-start-for-milwaukee-bucks-matthew-dellavedova-to-play-alongside-him/news-story/5f86569e0edf40b684c94409977fe951

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I see where he's potentially a pick and pop 4 next to a big 3 (Giannis) and a big 5.
Sort of how Utah uses Jerebko with Joe Ingles and Gobert. Just pick and pop all day. Not a roller, or physical rebounder or scorer. Jokic, Embiid are true "stretch 5s". Just my opinion.

Why not just get a modern forward with a total package of basketball skills then who will likely shoot closer to 40% than 35% from three. If he's not giving you the 'big guy' stuff in some way then you might as well just use a 6'8ish type guy who will be quicker, can dribble, drive, chances are that guy can rebound better too, etc.

I agree with you in theory, but those guys aren't exactly in abundance, either.

Domontas at pick #11 says hello.

[paulpressey25]

To be fair, It sounds pretty unbelievable that a high ranked high school prospect goes through, and finishes highschool twice. Then a snipet of a quickly paged through yearbook pops up on the internet where you have to pause the clip to make sure what is what.

One of our members owns those yearbooks from his era. I've seen them in their entirety and context. He went through high school twice. He was a refugee in a small private school on the far western side of Australia. An unknown. Initially his handler Ed Smith tried to enroll him as a new student over in the more heavily populated Eastern AU. They caught onto it, so he headed for the US. In the US they learned no NCAA school would touch him because it would draw fire from competing teams. So they settle on going to Toronto and Sky Smith. In the end, the charade was always allowed to continue because there are few seven foot guys on earth who are as mobile as Thon.

And also in the end, the age discussion was critical because people are now wondering how much room he has left to improve and what other teams perceive of his age vis a via trade value.

[emunney]

Why not just get a modern forward with a total package of basketball skills then who will likely shoot closer to 40% than 35% from three. If he's not giving you the 'big guy' stuff in some way then you might as well just use a 6'8ish type guy who will be quicker, can dribble, drive, chances are that guy can rebound better too, etc.

I agree with you in theory, but those guys aren't exactly in abundance, either.

Domontas at pick #11 says hello.

I don't know that Domantas is the kind of guy he's talking about. He's just a good big man. And good luck getting him now. Seems to me like DJ's idea is that you could improve immediately by replacing Thon with, instead of a big, a guy with a traditional SF skill-set. Like a James Johnson. I like the idea but it's pretty clearly player-dependent. I don't think Jeff Green or Marvin Williams would fly. I do think a guy like MKG, even though he can't shoot, would be a very clearly better option for Thon's minutes.

[paulpressey25]

I don't know that Domantas is the kind of guy he's talking about. He's just a good big man. And good luck getting him now. Seems to me like DJ's idea is that you could improve immediately by replacing Thon with, instead of a big, a guy with a traditional SF skill-set. Like a James Johnson. I like the idea but it's pretty clearly player-dependent. I don't think Jeff Green or Marvin Williams would fly. I do think a guy like MKG, even though he can't shoot, would be a very clearly better option for Thon's minutes.

Agree he may not be talking about the same guy. And agree with your point talent is hard to get. It was just too juicy a softball over the plate as to where this front office has completely blown it on talent acquisition at the level needed to become a contender.

[JEIS]

To be fair, It sounds pretty unbelievable that a high ranked high school prospect goes through, and finishes highschool twice. Then a snipet of a quickly paged through yearbook pops up on the internet where you have to pause the clip to make sure what is what.

One of our members owns those yearbooks from his era. I've seen them in their entirety and context. He went through high school twice. He was a refugee in a small private school on the far western side of Australia. An unknown. Initially his handler Ed Smith tried to enroll him as a new student over in the more heavily populated Eastern AU. They caught onto it, so he headed for the US. In the US they learned no NCAA school would touch him because it would draw fire from competing teams. So they settle on going to Toronto and Sky Smith. In the end, the charade was always allowed to continue because there are few seven foot guys on earth who are as mobile as Thon.

And also in the end, the age discussion was critical because people are now wondering how much room he has left to improve and what other teams perceive of his age vis a via trade value.

Well, That blows... Maybe Thon's play can be attributed to Karma biting him in the @ss.

[tydett]

Honest question: does Thon fall into the "throw-in" pile moreso than the "asset" pile due to his age concerns and his lack of ability to do anything positive on the court? Does a player like Vaughn or even Wilson have more mystique because at least we haven't seen those guys suck for an extended period, unlike Thon who we've only seen suck?

[paulpressey25]

Honest question: does Thon fall into the "throw-in" pile moreso than the "asset" pile due to his age concerns and his lack of ability to do anything positive on the court? Does a player like Vaughn or even Wilson have more mystique because at least we haven't seen those guys suck for an extended period, unlike Thon who we've only seen suck?

Personally think Thon has much more asset value than Vaughn or Wilson. Thon has at least shown flashes of a very valuable and scarce NBA skill.

The challenge you have with Thon is what we have seen among Bucks nation. There isn't much room for a middle ground on him. One would guess some teams could care less about Thon while a few rebuilding/tanking teams might view him as a worthy flyer to take.

[skones]

You could literally compile a highlight of somebody breaking somebody else's ankles at some point in time with every player in the entire league.

I mean I understand that everyone looks good in their highlights. Thon literally just won't even take one dribble any more. It's like he's afraid to put the ball on the floor.

Because he's not good at it.

[skones]

Honest question: does Thon fall into the "throw-in" pile moreso than the "asset" pile due to his age concerns and his lack of ability to do anything positive on the court? Does a player like Vaughn or even Wilson have more mystique because at least we haven't seen those guys suck for an extended period, unlike Thon who we've only seen suck?

To any team not named Milwaukee, he's never been anything BUT a "throw in." He's your upside flyer guy. He was never going to be some sort of "put it over the top" piece in any deal.

[ackypoo]

Honest question: does Thon fall into the "throw-in" pile moreso than the "asset" pile due to his age concerns and his lack of ability to do anything positive on the court? Does a player like Vaughn or even Wilson have more mystique because at least we haven't seen those guys suck for an extended period, unlike Thon who we've only seen suck?

To any team not named Milwaukee, he's never been anything BUT a "throw in." He's your upside flyer guy. He was never going to be some sort of "put it over the top" piece in any deal.

its possible at the end of last season he had some value.

[paulpressey25]

its possible at the end of last season he had some value.

This is the double edge sword of Kidd playing him so much. He's getting very much needed experience to see if he can improve via experience. But if he doesn't, the book is then out as it relates to his trade value.

Personally I'd like to see Kidd feature him more at the three point line like he did last year. That said Kidd now has three legit offensive weapons (Giannis, Bledsoe, Mids) that have to be the focal point.

[crkone]

its possible at the end of last season he had some value.

This is the double edge sword of Kidd playing him so much. He's getting very much needed experience to see if he can improve via experience. But if he doesn't, the book is then out as it relates to his trade value.

Personally I'd like to see Kidd feature him more at the three point line like he did last year. That said Kidd now has three legit offensive weapons (Giannis, Bledsoe, Mids) that have to be the focal point.

There's always the "I can rebuild him" factor.

[skones]

Honest question: does Thon fall into the "throw-in" pile moreso than the "asset" pile due to his age concerns and his lack of ability to do anything positive on the court? Does a player like Vaughn or even Wilson have more mystique because at least we haven't seen those guys suck for an extended period, unlike Thon who we've only seen suck?

To any team not named Milwaukee, he's never been anything BUT a "throw in." He's your upside flyer guy. He was never going to be some sort of "put it over the top" piece in any deal.

its possible at the end of last season he had some value.

Not enough for anyone else to consider him an "asset" to the point where he's anything other than "he might be something, we'll take a look and see what happens" IMO. When I think, "asset" I think of a player a team might look at and say, "we want him with us, because he can help now, or he'll be able to help later" and be willing to give up value in order to obtain that. With Thon, the question marks have always been louder than what he's been able to give on the court. He's a flyer guy.

For example, would you consider Georgios Papagiannis an "asset" or would you consider him a "throw in?"

[fansinceforever]

I'm not willing to quit on Thon but they need to rebuild his confidence and simplify the game for him. He needs to focus on doing 1 or 2 things well and forget about everything else.

[worthlessBucks]

Before the season, I've had people tell me I'm a conspiracy theorist or even just a flat out idiot for believing Thon was older than listed. Many of those same people now hate Thon and agree that he's older. Weird how that works.

Similar experience, as recently as of a week ago actually. Some people are just in complete denial and that's certainly because they spent hours pleasuring themselves to the fantasy possibility of having 2 of Giannis.

Evidence was clear as of last June/July that he went to high school twice. To be brandished a conspiracy theorist for living in a fact based world, rather sad. Some on this board virtue signaling at the time too.

That fact was always going to impact his development, his ceiling, his potential 2nd contract, and everything else. Nope, conspiracy whack job.

[yannisk]

For example, would you consider Georgios Papagiannis an "asset" or would you consider him a "throw in?"

throw away probably