Could Thon Maker Fit With Philadelphia 76ers as Tall Forward?

By Josh Wilson | Apr 15, 2016

Nov 9, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The Philadelphia 76ers logo on the warm up shirt of center Jahlil Okafor (not pictured) prior to action against the Chicago Bulls at Wells Fargo Center. The Bulls won 111-88. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Thon Maker may be very tall to be a small forward, but could the Philadelphia 76ers somehow make him work as a wing player?

With Sam Hinkie out as president and general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, and Bryan Colangelo in, the Sixers’ draft strategy is completely unknown. Will Colangelo try to trade many of Hinkie’s built up draft picks over his three seasons as GM, or will he use them?

If Colangelo does use them, will he draft players that other teams want and try to trade them, or do what Hinkie has done and kept most of them while trying to develop them?

On Thursday morning, ESPN reported that 19-year-old Thon Maker would declare for the NBA Draft after he was informed by the league that he was, in fact, eligible for the draft. Maker is currently playing at a prep institution, but has graduated high school, and is one year removed from graduation. This was the reasoning behind Maker being eligible. He will be one of the only players to come straight out of high school in the past several years since the NBA’s new rule of spending one year in college or in another pro league.

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Now, I know what you’re thinking. Maker? And the Sixers? The last thing they need is another big man. Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, and Jahlil Okafor already hold or will hold down the frontcourt with a ton of talent, and the three of them not fitting together nicely has allowed many trade rumors to cultivate themselves.

But Thon could be different, especially if he is looking to mold to whatever teams want. Maker is already hurting his draft stock a bit by skipping out on college or any pro basketball overseas. The way he plays looks good, but his talent is still largely unknown, as is his ceiling. High school just doesn’t tell everything. He’s no LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, guys we knew were going to be stars coming out of high school.

Maker has a decent 3-point shot and ball handling skills. He seems to be a player who could function similar to how Chris Bosh does, which is what fans want to see from Embiid as well. Frankly, I don’t see Embiid ever taking full advantage of any 3-point shot he has developed in a real game, though. Maker, however, may be able to patrol the arc and be a decent range shooter.

Maker is listed as a power forward/center currently, but coming out of high school, teams can greatly mold his future positioning. At nearly 7 feet tall, however, it’s going to be tough to play him anywhere outside of the frontcourt.

Moving forward, Bryan Colangelo has to show which “Process Pieces” from the Hinkie era he will keep around, and which he will be moving. If he decides he isn’t a fan of the futures of Noel or even Okafor, Maker may be a solid piece to bring on and play alongside Embiid.

The part that is shaky is the fact that Maker is a project, which is something the Sixers are supposed to be moving away from. Maker could be a great NBA player, but even if he is, it’s going to take several years to get that out of him. That doesn’t seem to be something Colangelo wants to subject the future of this team to. Fans shouldn’t want that either, as bringing Maker on could put them several years behind schedule.

Maker could land anywhere from pick 15 to 30 in this year’s draft, and the Sixers do have some projected picks in the area where he’s predicted to go most, 20-25. They own the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder picks in the first round of this year’s NBA Draft. The final order has yet to be determined, based off of playoff seeding and the lottery.

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If the Sixers do draft Maker, it would likely be to trade him to a team that can use him better, and a team willing to work with him for a few years to really polish his game. Maker might be good, but with no collegiate or professional training, he is a huge gamble.