Welcome back to LWOS NBA Draft Coverage, the column that brings you player profiles for the next crop of professional basketball players that are likely to be selected in the upcoming draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow us on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical profiles and scouting reports. Check outour complete coverage of the 2016 NBA Draft. Last Word On Sports is your new headquarters for all things 2016 NBA Draft!
Thon Maker is the enigma of the 2016 NBA Draft. He could become one of the best players out of this draft. In a few years, when NBA writers do those re-drafts, Maker could crack the top five. On the other hand, it’s also not hard to envision a scenario where his game never quite clicks.
Thon Maker NBA Draft Profile – 7’1”, Power Forward/Center, Athlete Institute (High School), 19 Years Old
For those who may not know, Maker challenged the NBA’s eligibility rules (and won) on the grounds that he spent last year as a postgraduate in high school. Thus, he met NBA Draft qualifications despite never playing in college or professionally elsewhere. Obviously still young, this draft does, however, fit his age group, even under his unique circumstances (Maker is four months younger than the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, for example).
Maker is still a very raw prospect. But when one is born in a country engaged in civil war (Sudan, in his case), developing one’s game tends to get put on the back-burner. Further, Maker and his family escaped the war-torn area and moved to Australia, then to America and settled in Louisiana for a time, then Virginia, and ultimately ended up going to high school in Ontario, Canada. Not exactly your typical path to the NBA. He has a very intriguing set of skills. Most of which are the type that get filed under “You can’t teach that.” But also needs a lot of coaching and patience.
A lot of times, players who come from nothing tend to play with an edge (think Allen Iverson) that screams “I’ve arrived, I’m staying here, and I’m not going back to nothing.” Thon Maker has that in him. Sometimes, though, it gets lost. Very often it is evident that he’s still learning the game’s nuances.
Strengths
Maker is competitive and refuses to back down. He plays with an aggressiveness and physicality one wouldn’t quite expect from somebody who has such a skinny frame. He has pretty fluid movements, and is surprisingly quick and nimble on his feet.
Despite a jumper that looks a little clunky and stiff, he gets the ball to go in a surprisingly high percentage of the time. And his range extends out to the three-point line. But his offensive game doesn’t have a calling card. His jumper isn’t consistent enough to call him a stretch four or five (yet), and despite the physical nature of his play, his doesn’t have much of a post game. It’s just too much for him at this point: he doesn’t have the reps under his belt to comfortably deal with contact down low while maintaining control of the ball while making any sort of post move. He does, however, finish well around the rim when he can get out in the open and can absorb contract pretty well once he gets off his feet.
Defensively, in pre-draft workouts Maker showed that he can step out when needed, and is actually really good at hedging screens in the pick-and-roll (something that is very important for bigs to do in the league these days). His height is obviously something that works in his favor, but he doesn’t block shots at quite the rate one might expect, but he could project well as an NBA rim protector, because most of his issues are in timing his jump and falling for shot fakes too often. Overall, especially early on, Maker projects better as a defender than he does offensively.
Weaknesses
His biggest weakness is his strength. At 7’1”, Maker is just 215 lbs. According to Draft Express, in 2015, Maker checked in at a legit 7’0” without shoes, but was still under 200 lbs. On a micro level, this leaves Maker susceptible to getting overpowered by polished pros, on a macro level, his frame leaves NBA personnel worried the schedule and day-in, day-out of it all will wear him down. If Maker is going to succeed, he needs to add bulk.
A lot of his other shortcomings mentioned above just need smoothing out by routine, and thousands and thousands of reps with NBA coaches. One not mentioned: He’s too often clumsy with the ball, or, more specifically, when catching the ball. If he can’t shake his propensity to fumble the ball when it’s passed to him, he won’t have a chance at being a useful offensive player because NBA defenders will be able to strip him before he can get into any rhythm.
Draftability and NBA Potential
His background and (lack of) experience puts Maker in bit of a conundrum. Teams drafting in the lottery will look for players with star power and have shown at least some glimpses they might be able to one day be the face on an NBA franchise. Maker is still too much of an unknown to fit that criteria. Conversely, playoff teams drafting outside the lottery tend to draft players that could “put them over the hump,” and can help them compete in the short-term. The general depth of this particular draft also works against Maker. In other (weaker) drafts, the intrigue might push Maker into the lottery. That won’t happen this year. In terms of where he ranks relative to the other players in the draft, Maker is expected to be drafted in the late first round or early second.
Teams may collectively decide to wait until the second round to take Maker if for no other reason than, if he doesn’t develop, a second round pick’s contract is not guaranteed. Although it wouldn’t be too hard to envision a scenario where a team like the San Antonio Spurs make Maker their first round pick, sit him for a couple years, then show him off once he’s ready while they watch the rest of the league slap their forehead for allowing that to happen (again). Ultimately, Thon Maker’s evaluation as an NBA player is years away, and the team that takes him will be taking him based on what they think can can be, rather than what he is right now.
Player Comparison
Maker’s game shows some of the tools of Kevin Durant. He also shows some of the ability to be a seven-footer off the wing like Dirk Nowitzki. This is not to say that he will be as good as those two sure-fire hall of fame players, just that he shows flashes of their versatility and skills. Maker is still a project with a long way to go before he is a productive NBA player, never mind at their level.
TREVISO, ITALY – JUNE 07: Thon Maker of team USA looks on during adidas Eurocamp day one at La Ghirada sports center on June 7, 2014 in Treviso, Italy. (Photo by Dino Panato/Getty Images)
