Former NBA lottery pick Thon Maker has signed with Hapoel Jerusalem for the 2021/22 season, the Israeli team announced in a press release.
Maker, who was selected with the No. 10 pick in the 2016 draft, spent his first two-and-a-half NBA seasons with the Bucks before being traded to the Pistons. The seven-footer finished his rookie contract in Detroit, then joined the Cavaliers to start the 2020/21 season before being waived in January. The Heat and Knicks reportedly considered signing the 24-year-old later in the season, but opted against it.
In 263 total regular season games in the NBA, Maker averaged a modest 4.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 0.7 BPG on .435/.327/.680 shooting in 13.8 minutes per contest.
Besides playing in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, Hapoel Jerusalem also competes in the Israeli State Cup and the Basketball Champions League.
Didn’t Jason Terry promise he would one day be MVP?
Seems like guys his height and build need either a great handle (KD) or defensive intensity (KG) to succeed.
Otherwise it’s Jonathan Bender/Perry Jones syndrome. They look destined for success but like Phil Jackson said of KP – ‘he might be too tall for basketball’.
Nice accumulation of Ks in this post.
KG said he’d one day be MVP.
You’re right, good catch.
He should be in NBA. If you have no offense. Then you have to be a rim protector. And he active and run on offense. A good PG will get you 8 pts a gm, easy. But you gotta want it. Too many bigs don’t have the energy unless they start. It happens too much with bigs. Even before NBA started changing. It’s like the RB in football. Most see them as interchangeable. And best by committee.
Just because someone happens to be 7 feet tall doesn’t automatically mean he should be in the NBA. I have a second cousin in San Antonio whose son used to play for UT-Arlington a few years ago and he was a legit 7-footer. He hardly even played that much in college.
Thought Raptors made mistake drafting Poehl instead of Maker. Thank goodness Masai didn’t but he blew the Flynn pick.
How did Masai blow the 30th overall pick? Mind you Flynn has shown alot of promise during his rookie season.
Sooner we move on from this GL player, the better. He couldn’t even stand out in summer league.
Uhhhhhh… Okayy loll
One can see Thon be tall, agile, athletic. It is harder to see Malachi restrict himself to winning choices. If that’s what GL players do, it’s because they’re expected to, by whoever does the promoting. Once they get a guaranteed contract they have options
Really thought Thon Maker could be an option for someone that needs a floor spacing big that can defend pick and roll. His hands have always been a question mark, and he can be foul prone, but I think that he would still be worth a spot, at his price. Even if he is actually 7+ years older than he is listed, that would still make him young enough, and I think he is at least viable. Hopefully this will give him more opportunity though