The OKC Thunder came away from the 2026 NBA Draft with two first-round picks, the highest of which was 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara at 12 overall.
While some believed the selection of the pivot to be a logical decision, recent reports suggest that Sam Presti and company may not have initially been completely sold on the prospect.
In a piece penned by ESPN's Anthony Slater, it was revealed that Oklahoma City was among several teams that reached out to the Warriors inquiring about a trade-up.
According to sources, the Thunder proposed a deal that would have swapped their respective lottery picks while also sending Golden State some future second-rounders in the exchange.
Obviously, the deal proved too weak for the Warriors to agree to, and, in turn, they ended up snatching up Yaxel Lendeborg, the talent many believed to be a no-brainer target for OKC. Per Slater's report, it seems Lendeborg was the player the inquiring teams "all wanted."
In the end, Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy adhered to owner Joe Lacob's desires and wound up selecting the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year at the last second, which, as a result, led the Thunder to select his Michigan teammate in Mara with the very next pick.
Aday Mara has underwhelmed with Thunder so far
While Lendeborg managed to shine bright and build up a reputation as an intriguing rookie prospect following his strong offseason and Summer League with the Warriors, Mara has only underwhelmed.
Behind sluggish on-court efforts and mere averages of 8.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in his three appearances (all losses), the young Thunder big was branded with the label of "most disappointing rookie" from the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas-based games, according to ESPN.
Now, granted, Summer League is far from the greatest litmus test when it comes to determining what players will actually produce well in the pros. Guys like Trae Young and Karl-Anthony Towns, for example, both had horrible showings during their respective runs in the annual offseason contest.
In fact, even the ESPN article that gave Mara such a lackluster superlative stressed for fans not to "overreact yet," specifically acknowledging that the 21-year-old has only proven capable of excelling on the hardwood "when surrounded by NBA-caliber players at the University of Michigan, and he is set to join the league's most talented roster in Oklahoma City."
However, with just how poorly he's performed, coupled with this latest report on OKC's push for a draft night trade-up, it's hard not to feel like the Thunder may have been onto something when it came to their presumed efforts to push for someone like Lendeborg instead.
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