Thon Maker NBA Combine 2016: Measurements, Analysis and Draft Projection

One of the most intriguing prospects in this year's NBA draft, without question, is 19-year-old Thon Maker. The forward is going straight to the NBA from high school after playing a postgraduate year with the Orangeville District Secondary School.

In April, the NBA deemed him eligible for the draft.   

Maker's length, background and inexperience against top competition made him one of the player's to watch at this year's NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Let's take a look at his measurements and testing results and analyze his draft stock going forward.

Standing Reach	Wingspan	Height (w/ shoes)	Height (w/o shoes)	Weight	Body Fat	Hand Width	Hand Length
9' 2 1/2''	7'3''	7' 0 3/4"	6'11 3/4''	216	6.05 percent	9 1/2"	8 3/4"

Analysis

Maker's background and his journey to the NBA draft are fascinating. He was born in Sudan and spent time in Australia, the United States and Canada growing up. As mentioned above, he's making the jump to the NBA without playing in college or professionally overseas.

Maker, then, has a ton to prove to NBA scouts, general managers and coaches, making his decision to skip the event's five-on-five scrimmage a bit head-scratching. That decision didn't go unnoticed, as Chad Ford of ESPN noted:

This year's mystery man didn't shed much light on what he'll be at the next level by skipping the five-on-five game. That may be because, as Jerry Meyer of 247Sports suspected, his skill set "should shine in small group workouts with NBA teams."

Meyer couched that analysis with this assessment, however:

And based several early scouting reports, NBA teams are wary of Maker. One anonymous Eastern Conference scout laid out his concerns to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com:

"

There is no way this kid should be in this year’s draft. He’s nowhere close to being ready to play or make any kind of impact that will help a team anytime soon. He’s one of those two years away from being two years away kind of players. If you take him near the end of the second round, he’s worth it. But a first-rounder? I just don’t see it.

"

An anonymous Western Conference executive added: “He’s going to have to show some things that we haven’t seen yet, in workouts. Every draft has a player or two that you draft because he has upside, but he’s a project."

But Maker has excellent size for a player who projects to be a floor-stretching 4 at the next level. He can spread the court to the three-point line. He's a solid shot blocker. He plays with an excellent motor. He has fantastic length and is obviously an impressive athlete.

“You immediately saw the separation of talent, of God-given ability,” an NBA assistant coach who scouted Maker at the Basketball Without Borders tournament told Blakely. “He’s a multifaceted player, a willing learner.”

But how will he hold up against stiffer competition? Does he have the strength and body type to adjust to the more physical NBA game? Does he have natural basketball IQ or great instincts?

Those questions are tougher to answer, which is why his projections are generally all over the map.

Both Ford and Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports have Maker at No. 26 on their respective big boards. Andrew Sharp of SI.com had him going No. 28 overall to the Phoenix Suns in his latest mock draft, meanwhile, while Jonathan Givony of The Vertical had him slipping out of the first round entirely.

That general area of the draft seems to be the consensus projection among front office folks as well, per Blakely:

So at this point, Maker will either be a late first-round pick or he'll slide somewhere in the second round, likely near the top of the round. Perhaps with great individual workouts he can change that perception, but at the moment, the 19-year-old seems highly unlikely to crack the lottery.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.