“We take him…and it’s gonna turn the draft upside down.”https://t.co/yvHYUdPdDr
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 13, 2016
There were a lot of interesting and surprising picks among the early selections of the 2016 NBA Draft. However, arguably no pick provided a bigger shakeup than when Milwaukee selected Thon Maker 10th overall. Maker is a real wild card, a mysterious player who is the first high school player selected since 2005. He’s raw, with a tremendously high ceiling, but also real bust potential. In short, it was a major swing by the Bucks. A decision like that isn’t made flippantly, and this video provides some insight into how the Bucks came to roll the dice and select Maker.
The “All-Access” video takes us from Maker working out in front of Jason Kidd and the Bucks decision makers to his introductory press conference. In between, though, we get to see inside the Bucks’ draft room on the night of the NBA Draft. Inside the room, front office personnel seem to be having the same conversation that those outside the room had been having: There’s a lot of upside with Maker, he’s loaded with potential, and so on. They actually make the final decision pretty late into their allotted time, but they seem happy to have gotten Maker. More to the point, Maker seems very happy to be selected by the Bucks.
In the video somebody in the Bucks’ front office says that drafting Maker would “turn the draft upside down.” That was probably true. Now Milwaukee has to hope Maker helps them turn the league upside down.
