Makur Maker, cousin of the Detroit Pistons’ Thon Maker, is making moves to join his family in the league as soon as possible.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony says that Maker has submitted paperwork to explore his eligibility in the 2020 NBA Draft.
One of the most unique players in the 2020 recruiting class, Maker is working with the NBA Player’s Association to become eligible for next June’s draft.
“The NBA Player’s Association is helping Makur get eligible. We’ve submitted all the transcripts and are waiting to hear back from the league office. The NBPA thinks he will receive it and, more than likely, will be in this draft class,” a source told Givony.
It’s still yet to be seen what Maker’s draft stock would be or when exactly he will officially be eligible, but this seems to have been coming for some time now. Some of the top programs that had been recruiting Makur, including Kentucky, have since backed away with this being a possible scenario.
There was a time Kentucky was recruiting Maker as a class of 2020 recruit. However, Adam Zagoria reports that Ed Smith, Maker’s guardian, says that both Kentucky and Oregon had “gone crickets” on Maker due to the possibility of him skipping college and opting for the pro route, whether it be overseas or in the NBA.
Kentucky will be losing a lot of depth in the frontcourt after this season. Nate Sestina will graduate, EJ Montgomery will likely enter the NBA Draft, and Nick Richards’ future will be up in the air. The Wildcats need more big men commitments in the next two classes and this news means there’s one less name on the board, although this has seemed likely for awhile now.
With one less available prospect, you wonder where John Calipari will focus next to replace some of the big guys.