A 7-foot-3 center on the Charlotte Hornets would be amazing.
A new NBA mock draft has the Charlotte Hornets landing a 7-foot-3 center.
Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor has the Hornets taking Michigan's Aday Mara with the 14th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
"Mara stepped on UCLA’s campus as a lottery-projected center from Spain," O'Connor wrote. "Then he fell off draft boards during two forgettable seasons there before transferring to Michigan and becoming one of the best true 5s in the country. He reads the floor like a guard, finishes with both hands, and swats shots with elite timing. The complication is he doesn't shoot from outside, makes below 60% of his free throws, and opponents are going to attack him on the perimeter.
"But the Hornets need size. As good as Moussa Diabate is as the team’s starting center, they drafted Ryan Kalkbrenner to provide size off the bench. But he’s only fine. Mara offers significantly higher upside."
Mara helped Michigan win the title this season. He averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.4 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 66.8% from the field, 30.0% from beyond the arc and 56.4% from the free-throw line.
Mara hasn't declared for the 2026 NBA Draft yet. It will be fascinating to see what the youngster does.
The Hornets' current starting lineup is LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate. Adding Mara to the second unit alongside Coby White would be fun to watch.
Charlotte didn't make the playoffs this year, but the franchise has a bright future with Ball, Miller and Knueppel leading the way.
The Hornets have two picks in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. After selecting four rotation players a year ago, Jeff Peterson has another opportunity to deepen his roster this year.
"I’m very excited about this draft," Peterson said. "It’s if not the deepest, one of the deepest that I’ve ever been a part of. A lot of good players all over the draft, of course. But again, where we are from an asset standpoint, it’s going to allow us to be flexible. So whether that means we bring two players in, consolidate, we’ll have different options that we’ll continue to explore and look at.
"But I’m excited for whoever we bring in because I know that it’s going to be someone who is a Hornet, and about what we’re about and at some point will contribute to what we are building here."
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