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The Detroit Pistons have optionality with Thon Maker

By Stuart London

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 08: Thon Maker #7 of the Detroit Pistons brings the ball up court during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 8, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 08: Thon Maker #7 of the Detroit Pistons brings the ball up court during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 8, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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The Detroit Pistons hold an option for center Thon Maker to  return next year. There are arguments on both sides whether they should use it.

Optionality is what all  sports organizations strive to have. The ability to choose what direction you can take a team is not always possible in a world of guaranteed contracts, salary caps and agents cutting secret deals.

Thanks to a major pruning of salaries, the Detroit Pistons have a lot of optionality for the first time in a while.

One of the decisions the Pistons organization has to make before next season is the option on center Thon Maker.

Maker is a 7-foot, 221-pound center who has been mostly a reserve for the Pistons the past year-and-a-half. He did start 14 games this past season.

In his time in Detroit, Maker has averaged 4.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 15 minutes a game.

Maker started out in the NBA as the 10th overall pick in the 2016 draft (selected one spot ahead of  Domantas Sabonis) by the Milwaukee Bucks. He came to Detroit as part of a three-team trade on February 7, 2019.

Maker has an interesting back story before his arrival in Detroit.

Related Story. The Detroit Pistons should re-sign Thon Maker this summer. light

Born in the South Sudan, Maker ended up in Australia when he was five-years-old as his home country was in the middle of a civil war. Discovered by scout Edward Smith when he was 14 playing soccer, Maker ended up going to schools in Louisiana and Virginia.

He then went to the Athlete Institute in Ontario, Canada, where Smith was an assistant. Maker stayed an extra year there, so he was eligible for the NBA Draft without going to college.

Despite no college, or even overseas professional experience, Maker was still a Top 10 pick thanks to his potential. He had height combined with a soft shooting touch and a great work ethic.

African-born centers like Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo and Joel Embiid have had great success in the NBA. Maker’s fellow Sudanese native Manute Bol also had a long pro career.

Maker has played nowhere near their level, but he is still only 23-years-old.

There are two options for the Pistons president Ed Stefanski and general manager Troy Weaver:

A. Make a qualifying offer to Maker of $4.8 million (price set by CBA due to his draft position). This would classify Maker a restricted free agent. Other teams could still offer a contract to Maker, but Detroit would be able to match it and retain him.

B. Do not make a qualifying offer to Maker. That will make him an unrestricted free agent, able to negotiate and sign with any team in the NBA. The Pistons could still sign him, but they would not have an inherent advantage.

There are good arguments on both sides. Let us take a closer look at both options.

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