Thon Maker to the Boston Celtics?

Thon Maker was declared eligible for the NBA Draft this year, should the Celtics take a look at him?

By now you’ve heard of Thon Maker. He’s the seven-foot, 19-year old prep star from Canada who recently was declared eligible for the NBA Draft this year. In order to become draft eligible, a player has to be at least 19-years old and your high school class has to be one year fully removed from graduation. Maker meets both of those requirements and thus is eligible.

While a lot of people think Maker found a loophole, Aaron Torres of Fox Sports explained that Andre Drummond had the same option before deciding to attend Connecticut. Torres also explained that Maker graduated last spring and instead of deciding to reclassify as part of the Class of 2015, he stayed at prep school in Canada and played as a postgraduate student.

With the NBA regular season concluded, draft talk will start to pick up like wildfire. Mock drafts, speculation of trades, and workouts start as the draft date inches closer. Where Thon Maker will get drafted is up in the air. A lot of sites have him as a mid-to-late first round pick, while others think he won’t be taken until the second round. Either way, the 7’1″ prospect has changed the landscape of the draft this year.

As of now, the Boston Celtics own eight draft picks in the upcoming draft; three in round one and five in round two. There is close to zero percent chance that Boston holds onto to all these picks. Reports are already saying that the Nets and Mavericks picks will be a part of trade talks as the draft nears. However, Boston won’t trade them all, and with five picks in the top-35, Thon Maker is definitely someone they should be looking at.

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The Celtics have a lot of cap space this off-season and already own a very talented roster. Unless they decide to keep the Nets pick, any rookie drafted this year will most likely spend the season in the D-League. Thon Maker, at 7’1″ and 219 pounds, is far from ready to play at the NBA level. He’s a project that will need a couple of years to fully develop into an NBA player. While teams that are rebuilding and looking for a budding star to make an instant impact will pass on him, Boston has the time to draft a project and work on him.

Thon Maker is as interesting of a prospect as it gets nowadays. Not because he’s the first high school prospect since the 2005 draft, it’s because it’s hard to get a grasp on his potential and what he’s able to do.

He’s tall, lengthy, skinny, and has shined and flopped in national high school games. At 7’1″ his three-point range is impressive to say the least and he has as good of ball-handling skills as anyone you’ll find at his size. He’s drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant, however, that’s probably a stretch, even if his shot is as good as advertised.

There is no doubt that Maker will need to add weight to make it in the NBA, however, that’s why a year or two in the D-League would be beneficial. The upside is there for Maker.

His motor is great for a center and he thrives in fast paced offenses, which would fit perfectly with the type of team Danny Ainge is building. He runs the floor exceptionally well for a big man and is a solid passer. When it comes down to it, Maker would rather hang around the three-point line than go inside. He’s a stretch four that could become an elite offensive player if he continues to develop the decent post game he owns right now.

Defensively, Maker is able to step out and guard on the perimeter, however, inside is where he is best suited. His standing reach is over nine feet tall and he’s shown he knows how to use his size. Gaining weight will be key for him to excel down low, on both sides of the ball, in the NBA.

Since he’s coming out of high school, NBA teams haven’t been playing too close of attention to him. He’ll make his name off the little they saw during some big high school showcase games and during the NBA Draft Combine and team workouts. Maker did make a name for himself against Deandre Ayton, the number one player in the Class of 2017.

Ayton is already being considered one of the best prospects in recent memory, however, in the Under Armour All-American Camp, Maker dominated him. Thon Maker finished with 23 points and 17 rebounds and held Ayton to seven points and six rebounds as the two went head-to-head.

Maker’s highlight reel is promising, however, so is every seven-foot high schooler’s. His body won’t be able to handle the NBA right now and his game just isn’t good enough either. It will be interesting to watch him during the NBA Draft Combine and see how he fares in team workouts prior to the draft.

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With that being said, Maker could be drafted from mid-first round to mid-second round. The potential is there, the question is how long will it take him to reach that potential and will he continue to gain weight? He may be worth looking at for a team who doesn’t need an instant impact from a rookie this year, but he won’t be seen in the NBA for a couple of seasons.

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