Could Aday Mara fit with the Detroit Pistons given their pre-existing depth at center?
Over the next two weeks, the 2026 NBA Draft is going to come to the forefront of the basketball world as soon as the Finals matchup between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs wraps up. By that time, a new king of the hoops world will have been crowned, and every other team in the league will be looking to make the necessary changes needed to compete for a title next season with the draft serving as the first opportunity to do so.
For the Detroit Pistons, that task likely means adding a perimeter shooter to the lineup after finishing No. 17 in the NBA with regards to regular season three-point shooting last year. But in the playoffs, the Pistons’ woes from long-range became even more prominent once their opponents packed the paint, so there is a strong belief that Detroit will target a perimeter shooter with the No. 21 overall selection on draft night.
But what if there aren’t any shooters on the board that Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon wants to add? That’s a very real possibility, and one that would likely push Detroit into another direction from a positional standpoint in terms of draft targets.
One prospect who could fall within the mid-to-first round range is Aday Mara, a center out of Michigan. After winning the National Championship just a few months ago, Mara has actually soared on mock drafts in recent times, so the 7-3 center out of Spain has sky-high stock at the moment, so much so that he may have risen out of the Pistons’ range. Last season, Mara averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on a dominant Michigan squad with options aplenty, so he was rarely relied upon as the Wolverines’ No. 1 option, which explains the modest scoring output. However, Mara really turned it on during March Madness and delivered a string of pivotal defensive performances as a rim protector and as a force on the glass, and Michigan would’ve had a much tougher road to the title without him.
Now, the Pistons are deeper at center than perhaps any other position on the team right now with Paul Reed and Isaiah Stewart backing up Jalen Duren, so it may seem like a head-scratcher to select a big man of Mara’s stature in the first round. However, it is important to recognize the reality that Tobias Harris is entering unrestricted free agency, and the organization needs to identify their long-term power forward of the future after the 35-year old departs from the starting lineup.
Since Harris clearly has not re-signed with the Pistons just yet since free agency does not begin until June 30, Detroit is relatively light at the four on the depth chart. Ron Holland can slide to the four in a pinch and guard frontcourt players effectively, but he’s developed more as a swingman in the role of Ausar Thompson as opposed to a back-to-the-basket power forward like Harris.
With that reality as the context, perhaps it would be wise for the Pistons to envision a two-big future in the Motor City, at least when Harris is out of the lineup. At 6-8 and 6-9 respectively, Harris and Reed are somewhat undersized centers by conventional NBA standards, so it would not be unreasonable to suggest that either B-Ball Paul or Beef Stew could have the ability to flex down to the four if Mara joins the Pistons as their backup center.
On the surface, Mara to Detroit might not make an immense amount of sense without considering a bit of tinkering to the depth chart, but both Stewart and Reed are veterans who contribute to the Pistons in multiple ways. They have the skill set and hard-nosed nature to help Detroit control the paint, and adding some more size to the frontcourt through the draft could help the Pistons establish an even stronger edge in the low post next season.
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