The Oklahoma City Thunder drafted 7-foot-3 Michigan center Aday Mara at No. 12 overall Tuesday night without having to trade up.
That’s a preposterously good result for executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti, who handed coach Mark Daigneault a ton of size to throw at San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.
Mara isn’t just raw size. He’s got great timing as a shot-blocker, he can make a wide array of passes, has spacing upside and could turn into a full-time starting center down the line.
For the Thunder to grab Mara like this, entirely organically, is almost a missed opportunity by rival teams, which could have selected Maya and held him hostage in order to extract assets from Presti and Co.
This further underlines how smart it is to go the draft-pick route, as the Thunder have for several years. Well-run teams end up in these situations where they can drastically improve their own positions by having done the work previously and remaining focused on asset accumulation.
The Thunder will also have a ton of optionality with Isaiah Hartenstein, with whom they hold a team option. With Mara in the fold, they can breathe easy, decline the option and attempt to re-sign Hartenstein at a discount. If he refuses, they should have enough size to remain competitive.
About the Author
