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SALT LAKE CITY — Going into the Jazz's workout period, nobody's interview was going to be more telling than Thon Maker's.
Why? For years, Maker's been a YouTube sensation, making it on mixtape after mixtape that shows off his allegedly transformational game. But, watching more tape — the highlights and the lowlights — tells a different story.
Maker played out of his skillset in high school. Maker dribbled the ball up and tried to attack the defense as a seven-footer, usually getting stripped. As a result, he ended up with 171 turnovers compared to just 50 assists in his 75 games. If he did hold on to the ball, he'd usually just toss something up towards the rim and miss.
Draft analyst Rafael Uehara for Upside and Motor writes, "Maker loves taking 3-point shots, by the way. Life is just something to be endured between opportunities to take the next 23-foot jumper. And his shot selection is terrible, often taking contested deep bombs out of scrambles with plenty of time in the shot clock."
In other words, he chose to play wildly above his skill level. Maker's assets are that he's tall, long, has good mobility for a 7-footer, and has a decent set outside stroke. Everything else that he tried to do is playing outside of himself, and that would never work for a Quin Snyder system which demands basketball IQ and playing within a team concept.
That's why his interview was going to be telling: was he just doing these things in high school to get himself to the NBA? Or is he actually smarter than that and can be part of a winning team?
"What is promoted out there (by the mixtape makers) is the player they envision at 7 feet, but not the player I envision," Maker said.
"The mixtape guy, they just show lots of dunks, crossovers and fancy one-hand passes. This other me, that I envision is more steady, controls the pace, get your teammates going, be fundamentally sound, offensively and defensively, focus on teamwork, talking to your teammates in the right way, being an extra coach on the court."
So what has he been working on?
"I've gained 27 pounds in the last year, I've been working on my body, my lower body, working on my base, staying on balance, taking on balance shots," Maker said. "I figured out my areas on the court. Being in control of yourself every move you make on offense."
And what are Maker's goals once he makes it to the NBA?
"First, just step in the door and work my way up. At the end of the day, it's all about the championships."
These are perfect answers. He knows that he's sped up on the floor, that he needs to play more steady, get his teammates involved and improve his core strength to an NBA level. He says he knows that he'll need to be less of a selfish player in order to find success, and that his long term priorities are about team success, not individual success. I came away wildly, wildly impressed.
Now, is any of what Maker says actually true?
That's the hard part. In December, DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony heard about this "new" Thon Maker and didn't find much of a difference.
Came into today w/an open mind, eager to see this new version of Thon Maker everyone's been talking about. Sadly, he looks exactly the same. — Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) December 31, 2015
And of course, if Maker knew about team play all along, why wasn't that play translating to the court? Maker's interview skills may not necessarily mean a quality basketball IQ. Is it just an agent who has schooled Maker well in the art of the interview?
It's hard to draft a player based on what he says he is, rather than any play he's shown on the actual court. And that's why Maker is still slated to be drafted in the second round of most mocks, despite his great height, length and quickness of feet. Down there, the risk is worth it: A tall energy player who can shoot is valuable in today's NBA. At No. 12? It's probably too soon.
