NEW YORK -- Australian Thon Maker endured his sixth consecutive DNP-CD in Brooklyn on Monday night, and with the NBA trade deadline looming on Thursday at 3pm (US EST), his future as a Milwaukee Buck is very uncertain.
Still, Maker has kept a positive mindset through another patch of non-appearances.
"Always positive for me," Maker told ESPN as he left Barclays Center. "Nothing ever deters me from where I'm going. Always positive; always locked in on my goals, my plans and my job. I just want to do my job to the best of my ability. If I put my work in, trust in the Lord ... I'm good. That's how my mindset is. I'll just continue to work, and trust my work ethic so whenever I get it [opportunity], I'm always ready to play."
This season Maker has shown stretches of the potential the Bucks envisaged when they drafted him 10th overall in 2016, and he had his best -- and most consistent -- stretch of games for Milwaukee in December, averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in just under 13 minutes per night.
He began January well, but since a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on January 27 indicating that his management had requested a trade out of Milwaukee, Maker has not appeared in any of the Bucks games, including comfortable wins against Toronto, Washington and Brooklyn.
Against the Wizards and Nets, Maker was the only healthy, active player that did not see court time.
Maker told ESPN that the past couple of weeks have been tough on him, probably the toughest of the season so far.
"Definitely tough, and I enjoy this game so much," Maker said. "I switched from soccer to basketball. I love this game so much."
Making it worse for Maker has been the ten-day road trip the team has been on. Despite the Bucks going 4-1 on the road, and maintaining their two-game lead on top of the Eastern Conference standings, Maker has not been able to get into a rhythm to keep him as sharp as he would like.
"It's tougher because when we don't practice, we're on the road so it's tough to get in the gym," he says. "If we were back home, and we don't practice as often, I'll still get in the gym and get extra shots up, or get on the treadmill and do some sprints just to stay in shape. We don't practice as often, so it makes it harder as well but I'm not complaining."
Despite reports suggesting that disgruntled New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis has amended his list of teams he'd re-sign with if traded to, include the Bucks, it appears unlikely Milwaukee has the pieces to make the deal, but whatever package they might be able to offer New Orleans would surely include the 7'1 Maker.
Still, Maker is being shopped around to teams, according to Wojnarowski, so the next couple of days could be some of the most stressful for Maker as essentially his playing career is in limbo. Until then, he's blocking out eternal noise and reverting back to his positive mindset to keep himself grounded.
"I don't look that far ahead," he maintains. "Literally, I'm taking it day-by-day and when we get on the court I zone everything out and focus on what I'm doing at that moment."