Los Angeles Lakers: 5 2nd-Round Prospects
Thon Maker, F/C, Orangeville Prep HS (Canada)
Luke Walton played alongside transcendent hybrid players like Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol in his days as a player with the Lakers. He’s been a coach on a team that has essentially shattered the boundaries of positions with their small-ball lineups in the Golden State Warriors.
With all that knowledge and experience, imagine what Walton would be able to do with a player as fluid and versatile as Thon Maker.
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Maker at this point resembles a young Kevin Garnett, possessing the height of a center with the agility and athleticism of a small forward. Maker can score from the paint and the arc, is a looming shot blocker and is relentless and energetic on both ends of the floor.
While his lack of experience against top-level competition is concerning, his potential as a new-era center is way too tantalizing for the Lakers to pass up should he slide to the early second round.
Like Garnett before him, Maker’s skill set gives him the potential to be a transcendent talent and — luckily for the Lakers — one that could fit in with their current core.
His shot blocking and outside shooting are the perfect foil to Randle’s bruising and slashing style of play and he’s got the athleticism and versatility to be effective in pick-and-roll situations with both D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson.
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Maker’s enormous upside alone should cause him to be snatched up in the first round, but if by some chance he slips to the second, look for the Lakers to capitalize on a unique opportunity to draft a rare talent.