Thon Maker

[Rockmaninoff]

He could fall hard and go undrafted, this year's group of bigs is really deep

He really should go to college.


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So he can learn how to play college basketball?

[Chuck Everett]

He could fall hard and go undrafted, this year's group of bigs is really deep

He really should go to college.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

So he can learn how to play college basketball?

Yeah, I agree, some bizarre statements. I mean Maker is a foreign player for all intents in purposes. He doesn't have to go to college as he could just as easily go pro internationally even if he were to withdraw from the draft. I mean in that regard, he's no different than Dragan Bender, who obviously doesn't need to go to college to work on his game.

[jpengland]

9'5" standing reach for Thon is sick. And at 7'1, his athleticism goes from good to great, for that height.

And he's smart and well spoken and hard working like Myles Turner and Porzingis. Even if his upside is only about what Porzingis was this year, that's still probably good enough to be drafted top 5 for a team that needs size and is thinking long term.

I'm a Celtics fan, and nobody stands out as the obvious #3 pick, or 4 or 5 or 6 for that matter.
And it's going to come down to drafting 2-3 centers in the first round or paying Sullinger 15+ million a year to get fatter.
I'd rather draft Poeltl or Maker (or Bender) with pick 3-6, and then draft a beefcake center like Stone or Hammonds later in the first, rather than give Horford a max contract or Sullinger close to it.

For Thon to have a 9'5+ standing reach, plus athleticism, plus a high motor, that's a rare combination. Even if he's only a role player for his whole career, having a jump shot to spread the floor and being a versatile long defender will make him very very valuable.

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.

[cedric76]

9'5" standing reach for Thon is sick. And at 7'1, his athleticism goes from good to great, for that height.

And he's smart and well spoken and hard working like Myles Turner and Porzingis. Even if his upside is only about what Porzingis was this year, that's still probably good enough to be drafted top 5 for a team that needs size and is thinking long term.

I'm a Celtics fan, and nobody stands out as the obvious #3 pick, or 4 or 5 or 6 for that matter.
And it's going to come down to drafting 2-3 centers in the first round or paying Sullinger 15+ million a year to get fatter.
I'd rather draft Poeltl or Maker (or Bender) with pick 3-6, and then draft a beefcake center like Stone or Hammonds later in the first, rather than give Horford a max contract or Sullinger close to it.

For Thon to have a 9'5+ standing reach, plus athleticism, plus a high motor, that's a rare combination. Even if he's only a role player for his whole career, having a jump shot to spread the floor and being a versatile long defender will make him very very valuable.

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

[Nolan]

So it's official he's in. DX currently has him as a 2nd rounder.

[Zombiesonics]

So it's official he's in. DX currently has him as a 2nd rounder.

thats before any workouts/interviews too. @ 40 with room to grow...to think people in here were claiming he would be undrafted lmao.

[Nolan]

So it's official he's in. DX currently has him as a 2nd rounder.

thats before any workouts/interviews too. @ 40 with room to grow...to think people in here were claiming he would be undrafted lmao.

I doubt that. Workouts are going to go a very very long way into determining where he goes. He can sneak into the first round but I still don't see him as a lottery pick.

[RightToCensor]

He won't get undrafted, but he's one of those players who you'd take solely hton potential. He's a guy that's two years away from being two years away from being a productive NBA player. He's gonna spend a lot of time in the D-League to start his career, so would a lottery team really take him knowing that? I think he gets snagged in the low to mid 20s.

If he drops to a team like Golden State or San Antonio then the league is just asking for them to win more championships.

A deep team like Boston who has a plethra of picks can afford to take Thon Maker and stash him in the D-League, other teams only have one first round and are looking for players that can help them win now.

[Envelope]

We all know he's going to crush his workouts.

[Envelope]

Anything close to these and he's a top 5-10 lock.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjzdm1pSqjk[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp7PX7hYUFQ[/youtube]

[JB2]

Maker's absolute doomsday floor is 32 for Lakers.

I can see him as high as 3-8.

[Envelope]

Chad Ford ‏@chadfordinsider 6h6 hours ago
Thon Maker is currently ranked No. 20 on our Big Board. Here’s his full scouting report with draft stock analysis http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/results/players/_/id/20252/thon-maker …

[GimmeDat]

When it comes to the 1v0 workout, I think KP and Embiid stood out because a) They're incredibly fluid overall athletes for their size, and b) They shoot absolutely lights out in a gym.

I think Maker's individual workouts will help him, but I think it might stand out that Maker is somewhat of a cumbersome mover for someone of his frame, and that he's an okay, but not great, outside shooter at this stage.

A lot of people talking about drafting him for his potential as well.. what do people think his ceiling is?

[Envelope]

Recall the love and adulation Willie Cauley Stein was getting last year. Everybody astounded at how he could guard 1-5. Thon Maker has that same versatility, but is taller, has a higher standing reach, and is much more coordinated with much more offensive potential.

Everybody acts like since Thon isn't as good as his mix tapes that he's automatically late first round, or undrafted, lol.
Rather than comparing him to Garnett or Hakeem, why not compare him to WCStein or Noel, and realize he's a better prospect than those guys?

It's like people forgot that stud defensive power forwards have huge value. Like a power forward isn't good unless they can score 20ppg in the post.

What if they just score 15 ppg on clean ups and transition finishes, but play super-versatile defense? Pretty sure Draymond Green has been playing like an MVP candidate doing not much more than that.

[GimmeDat]

Recall the love and adulation Willie Cauley Stein was getting last year. Everybody astounded at how he could guard 1-5. Thon Maker has that same versatility, but is taller, has a higher standing reach, and is much more coordinated with much more offensive potential.

Everybody acts like since Thon isn't as good as his mix tapes that he's automatically late first round, or undrafted, lol.
Rather than comparing him to Garnett or Hakeem, why not compare him to WCStein or Noel, and realize he's a better prospect than those guys?

It's like people forgot that stud defensive power forwards have huge value. Like a power forward isn't good unless they can score 20ppg in the post.

What if they just score 15 ppg on clean ups and transition finishes, but play super-versatile defense? Pretty sure Draymond Green has been playing like an MVP candidate doing not much more than that.

As far as I can tell from what we've all seen from him, he's no where near the athlete of a WCS or Noel. He's an average/good athlete for his size with a really weak base and a thin, if improved, frame. He moves around well for his size, but to compare his defensive versatility to someone like WCS/Noel, let alone Draymond, seems like a massive stretch.

I think you're overrating his ability as an athlete. I guess we'll all find out more about him during the pre-draft process.

[grubs10]

He might kill individual workouts but GMs are going to want to see him against the other kids in the draft since theres no good tape on him. Thats where i could see him struggle greatly. He could refuse those types of workouts but I think that would scare people off as well

[jpengland]

He won't get undrafted, but he's one of those players who you'd take solely hton potential. He's a guy that's two years away from being two years away from being a productive NBA player. He's gonna spend a lot of time in the D-League to start his career, so would a lottery team really take him knowing that? I think he gets snagged in the low to mid 20s.

If he drops to a team like Golden State or San Antonio then the league is just asking for them to win more championships.

A deep team like Boston who has a plethra of picks can afford to take Thon Maker and stash him in the D-League, other teams only have one first round and are looking for players that can help them win now.

I really don't think he is that far away from making an impact.

Yes he is very raw, but he has such a good base to work from that good coaching can have him on the floor and being productive within his first 2 years IMO. He can catch the ball, he has the basis of a jumpshot, we know he can dunk, block shots and grab boards. We aren't talking some stone handed, rail thin big who hasn't played ball.

As said, if you focus on him being a big and sticking to doing what he should be doing (running the floor, protecting the rim, grabbing boards, catching lobs and being able to knock down an 18 footer if you leave him open) then I think he is a productive player pretty soon and has the potential to be a very, very good player. Especially the way the game is going. Once he gets to that point, then start worrying about extending his range to 3 and being able to put the ball on the floor in transition and on closeouts as well as adding a couple of post moves.

[Skin]

Recall the love and adulation Willie Cauley Stein was getting last year. Everybody astounded at how he could guard 1-5. Thon Maker has that same versatility, but is taller, has a higher standing reach, and is much more coordinated with much more offensive potential.

Everybody acts like since Thon isn't as good as his mix tapes that he's automatically late first round, or undrafted, lol.
Rather than comparing him to Garnett or Hakeem, why not compare him to WCStein or Noel, and realize he's a better prospect than those guys?

It's like people forgot that stud defensive power forwards have huge value. Like a power forward isn't good unless they can score 20ppg in the post.

What if they just score 15 ppg on clean ups and transition finishes, but play super-versatile defense? Pretty sure Draymond Green has been playing like an MVP candidate doing not much more than that.

As far as I can tell from what we've all seen from him, he's no where near the athlete of a WCS or Noel. He's an average/good athlete for his size with a really weak base and a thin, if improved, frame. He moves around well for his size, but to compare his defensive versatility to someone like WCS/Noel, let alone Draymond, seems like a massive stretch.

I think you're overrating his ability as an athlete. I guess we'll all find out more about him during the pre-draft process.

WCS and Noel never moved like this, especially with the ball in their hands.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3Hx5LNImI#t=128[/youtube]

[BleedGreen1989]

If I'm Boston, I'd grab him with the DAL pick but I also generally have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to the draft.

[Envelope]

Recall the love and adulation Willie Cauley Stein was getting last year. Everybody astounded at how he could guard 1-5. Thon Maker has that same versatility, but is taller, has a higher standing reach, and is much more coordinated with much more offensive potential.

Everybody acts like since Thon isn't as good as his mix tapes that he's automatically late first round, or undrafted, lol.
Rather than comparing him to Garnett or Hakeem, why not compare him to WCStein or Noel, and realize he's a better prospect than those guys?

It's like people forgot that stud defensive power forwards have huge value. Like a power forward isn't good unless they can score 20ppg in the post.

What if they just score 15 ppg on clean ups and transition finishes, but play super-versatile defense? Pretty sure Draymond Green has been playing like an MVP candidate doing not much more than that.

As far as I can tell from what we've all seen from him, he's no where near the athlete of a WCS or Noel. He's an average/good athlete for his size with a really weak base and a thin, if improved, frame. He moves around well for his size, but to compare his defensive versatility to someone like WCS/Noel, let alone Draymond, seems like a massive stretch.

I think you're overrating his ability as an athlete. I guess we'll all find out more about him during the pre-draft process.

WCS and Noel never moved like this, especially with the ball in their hands.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3Hx5LNImI#t=128[/youtube]

People still calling that an average athlete, lol. Maybe for a 6'1 point guard.