Report: Milwaukee Bucks Trade Thon Maker for Stanley Johnson

Following several weeks of riding the pine after his ill-timed trade request, it appears Thon Maker finally got his wish and is headed to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Stanley Johnson, per Adrian Wojnarowski.

Over the past two seasons, Maker flashed occasional potential as a switchable big who could stroke it from deep, but fell out of Budenholzer’s rotation as this season wore on. Part of that was presumably due to not wanting to placate to Maker’s demands and suddenly give him playing time, but it also meant Milwaukee didn’t really showcase him in recent weeks to potentially juice his trade value. Outside of a few brief glimpses, and Playoff Thon’s peculiar emergence as a difference maker, Thon never really capitalized on the “Future MVP” potential Kevin Garnett once espoused. A hard worker and good locker room guy by all accounts, Maker exits Milwaukee with career averages of 4.5 points, 2.6 boards and 0.6 blocks per game.

In his stead, Milwaukee takes a gamble in the “second draft,” trying to see whether Johnson’s potential was squandered on a Detroit team that’s been cruising down the highway to nowhere for a few seasons now. Originally drafted eighth in the 2015 draft, Johnson has been hampered by a horrendous shot in the big leagues, at just 29.2% from deep and only 37.2% overall from the field during his career. Milwaukee is assuredly hoping that they can try and turn those figures around under their tutelage, while capitalizing on the defensive potential of his 6’7” height and 7’ wingspan. Johnson will be a restricted free agent following this season.

Stay tuned to Brew Hoop for more analysis of this and any other deadline deals the Bucks make.