The Milwaukee Bucks were part of a trade earlier Wednesday morning that saw big man Thon Maker sent to the Detroit Pistons in a straight up swap for Stanley Johnson. In speaking with ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth, Giannis Antetokounmpo opened up about how tough it was having to part ways with a teammate who felt like family to him.
“Thon is like my little brother, this one hurts more than any trade that happened that I’ve been a part of but this is the business we work in.” –@Giannis_An34 reaction to deal agreed in principle that will send Thon Maker to Detroit for Stanley Johnson (per @wojespn)
— Cassidy Hubbarth (@CassidyHubbarth) February 6, 2019
The 21-year-old center was drafted by the Bucks in 2016 with the 10th pick of the draft. In his third season, he has played alongside Giannis for all his time with the team, and the two were apparently very close.
Maker made a request recently to be dealt due to his relegation to a bench role with the team. Last season, he averaged 16.7 minutes per game and started for the team in 12 of his 74 games played. This season, he was averaging five less minutes and was stuck in the rotation behind the team’s new starter Brook Lopez, and D.J. Wilson, who has been having a great season with the Bucks.
On his new team, Maker will find himself competing with Andre Drummond, Zaza Pachulia, and Jon Leuer to find minutes. However, if he lives up to much of the hype surrounding him upon entering the league and becomes the modern, floor spacing center many believed he would be, he could end up being a great fit with the Pistons who are starved for outside shooting.
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