A look at potential New Orleans Pelicans draft pick, Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara
The 2026 NBA draft is under two weeks away now and the rumors are heating up. Though the New Orleans Pelicans have just the No. 58 overall selection in the draft, they have been rumored to be trying to get back into the lottery.
Most of the prospect preparation has been for the second round, given that that is where the Pelicans are drafting, but it can now expand out into potential lottery selections.
Continuing the series of prospect profiles, it's time to look at one of the most intriguing talents in the draft: Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara. After his impressive combine showing, people are even higher on his potential as a defensive centerpiece in the modern NBA.
Because of the success that the San Antonio Spurs have had on defense just by having Victor Wembanyama in the paint, every team in the league is going to want to attempt to recreate that. At 7-foot-3 with a 9-foot-9 standing reach (Wemby is at 9-foot-7), Mara is next up.
That is not to say that Mara is the next Wembanyama. While he can be great on defense, he doesn't have the same offensive outlook that the Spurs star has. He was obviously efficient at 66.8% from the field, but was just 3-for-10 on the year from three. It's unclear if that is ever going to be a big part of his game, but he began the process of adding it to his arsenal this year.
Think more like what the Memphis Grizzlies have seen with Zach Edey. He's a massive force up the middle and turns their defense around completely when he enters the game. It was a small sample size of just 283 minutes last season, but the Grizzlies' net rating was 27.8 points higher with him on the court.
Mara averaged 12.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 blocks per game last year en route to helping lead the Wolverines to a National Championship.
Should the New Orleans Pelicans trade up for Aday Mara?
Absolutely. Mara makes perhaps the most sense of anyone that they could potentially vault up for. New Orleans desperately needs size, strength and rebounding to add to their front court next to Derik Queen, who is more finesse-forward.
Obviously, he wouldn't really help the spacing issue. Playing Mara, Queen and Zion Williamson together doesn't work. Still, Mara is the type of talent that gets added no matter what and things are figured out after. The Pelicans need players who can impact winning basketball, Mara is that.
