Chad Ford: Thon Maker to Detroit Pistons in mock 9.0
Chad Ford linked the Detroit Pistons to Thon Maker in his grade “A” mock draft post a few days ago. In his latest mock draft (version 9.0), Ford adds to the connection, mocking Maker to the Pistons.
The Detroit Pistons will have a hard time truly narrowing down their targets in this draft picking so far down at 18.
There’s probably four prospects who should be on the board that they would consider drafting (Thon Maker, Timothe Luwawu, Demetrius Jackson, and Denzel Valentine), that should be there and another handful that they would consider drafting should they fall (Deyonta Davis, Wade Baldwin IV, Skal Labissiere, and Furkan Korkmaz).
For me–at least in the last few weeks–it’s really come down to two prospects who should be there: Thon Maker and Denzel Valentine.
Ford has zeroed in on both players for the Pistons too having mocked Valentine to the Pistons in mock 8.0, and by selecting Maker in his grade “A” mock draft, where Ford acts as G.M. and makes the pick he think would be best for teams.
The grade “A” mock is Ford’s views on who each team should select, but his mock draft articles are there to predict who each team drafts–regardless of if he likes the pick or not.
That said, it looks like Maker is now the front-runner for the Pistons pick at 18, at least, according to Ford.
"18. Detroit PistonsThon MakerAustraliaAge: 19ForwardDenzel Valentine seems like an obvious fit in Detroit, but concerns about the long-term health of his knees are giving some teams pause. If the Pistons pass on him at 18, then you’ll know the concerns were significant, as they really like him.Maker is trending in the opposite direction. He’s nowhere near ready to play in the NBA, but his upside is so intriguing and he’s a very good long-term fit in Detroit next to Andre Drummond. If the Pistons are patient, Maker could pay off big-time."
It’s interesting that Ford verbalized how the Pistons feel about Valentine. During the process we all just assumed the Pistons liked him because of his skills, size, and because they invited him to a private workout.
The fact that the Pistons “really like” Valentine might leave the door open for him to be selected by the team, but I would be shocked at this point if Maker is on the board and the Pistons didn’t select him.
After all, Valentine’s rumored knee issues are similar to Donatas Montiejunas’ back issues, whom the Pistons traded for, and then ultimately voided the trade last season due to concerns about his long-term health.
The Pistons want players who can really play like Valentine can, but they’ve shown in the past that they won’t take risks on potentially serious knee injuries.
That’s the biggest reason for the shake up in Ford’s mock draft.