Time will tell but it looks like the Oklahoma City Thunder got yet another vital piece by drafting Michigan’s Aday Mara with the 13th pick in Tuesday’s NBA draft. The 7-foot-3 center proved his ability on both ends of the court during the Wolverines’ championship run. OKC fell short in its quest to defend its own title this year and will have to solve the riddle of Victor Wembanyama for years to come. On paper, Mara is one of the few athletes out there who can negate some of Wemby’s height advantage. We’ll have to see how he acclimates to the professional game yet Sam Presti and the Thunder front office should congratulate themselves on taking a smart risk.
They should also pat themselves on the back, once again, for executing what has the potential to go down as one of the greatest trades in NBA history. Mara’s selection finally closed the book on a 2019 deal between Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Clippers. Paul George went to L.A. in that swap and the Thunder received, well, they received quite a bit.
What’s happened since the trade
George had his moments and the Clippers did succeed in making it to the Western Conference Finals in 2020-21. Gallinari would play only 62 games for OKC before moving on. Mann played two-plus years with the Thunder before leaving for Charlotte and further elevating his game. Topic has only suited up for 12 contests since his selection. So if you stop there, not so bad for the Clippers.
But you can’t stop there. Gilgeous-Alexander won both the regular season and Finals MVP in 2024-25, which puts him in historic company. There’s a lot of reason to think he’ll pull off the feat again should Oklahoma City build upon the groundwork of a dynasty. All Williams has done is cement himself as a more-than-capable No. 2 paramount to hoisting a Larry O’Brien. And Wallace has developed into a nice role player. It’s already absurdly lopsided before Mara gets into the mix.
Sure, none of this is breaking news and the verdict was in a long time ago. Yet it’s legitimately shocking to see all the devilish details laid out after all of these years. Throw in the possibility of several of these players serving as OKC cornerstones for years to come and there will be more opportunities to check back in on this in the future.
