With the new rules regarding the NBA Draft we have seen a lot more players than usual declare. The NBA moved back the latest date players can pull out of the draft, so basically everyone is throwing their name in the pool to see where they are projected to go before deciding whether they want to return to school or stay in the draft.
The NBA rules still state that players must be at least 19 years old and one year removed from college to enter the draft, but Thon Maker thinks he is an exception to that rule. Maker is still in high school, but he has decided to lobby the NBA to allow him to enter the 2016 draft instead of attending college for a year.
On the surface it wouldn't seem like Maker has much of a case here, but he will argue that he was part of the 2015 recruiting class, which he did almost reclassify to, but instead of going to college he decided to do a post-graduate year. Whether the NBA will allow Maker to enter the draft is a mystery in its own right, but so is where Maker would be selected should he be allowed in.
Maker is ranked as the 10th best recruit in the 2016 class and the second best power forward but is not projected to be selected in either the 2016 NBA Draft or the 2017 draft at the moment. It could very easily be argued that Maker would benefit from at least one year of college, but this has always been an option for him.
Maker is a 7-foot power forward that can stretch the floor and plays with great energy. The book on him is that he has a lot of talent but he doesn't really excel in any one aspect of the game and has a long way to go in terms of development. It has been said that Maker has some Kevin Garnett in his game, but he still has a ways to go before he reaches that level.
If Maker is allowed in the NBA Draft this summer he will likely be selected at some point because of his massive upside, but he isn't likely to be useful immediately. NBA executives believe, for the most part, that Maker has regressed recently so he is someone that may spend a year or two in the D-League before making an impact with an NBA team. It is an interesting choice for Maker to make, but we will have to see if the NBA allows it, and if it does, where he goes in the draft.
