Earlier in the offseason, a bold prediction was made regarding Aday Mara's rookie season with the OKC Thunder, with the folks at Bleacher Report saying they don't expect the big man to be a rotation player until next calendar year.
This case was originally made because, in writer Zach Buckley's eyes, Oklahoma City doesn't "have an obvious place" for him in their rotation, and he "hardly appeared rotation-ready" during Summer League.
Excitingly enough, Mara has recently found himself making this prediction look like an extreme overreaction from his admittedly underwhelming SL production, as the 21-year-old absolutely crushed it in his five preseason games played, posting stellar averages of 13.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.4 blocks on 78.8 percent shooting from the field
As a result, the rookie's league-wide reputation has taken a dramatic turn for the better.
Unfortunately, this bold prediction is surprisingly still at risk of becoming a reality, as Mara's former club, Spanish team Basket Zaragoza, is apparently trying to block the pivot's transfer from international play to the NBA.
Aday Mara's former pro-team looking to stop transfer to Thunder
According to a recent article from the local newspaper Heraldo de Aragon, Mara's former club is claiming they hold his playing rights and are planning to block any international clearance until a financial settlement is reached.
This is by no means the first time such a dispute has been seen. From Luka Doncic to Tarik Biberovic, it's a rather common occurrence for EuroLeague players to negotiate some sort of contract buyout with their former teams to legally make the leap to the NBA.
What is peculiar about this situation, however, is the fact that Mara is coming off three seasons played at the collegiate level, unlike the other examples that came before him, who simply went from pro league to pro league, so the steps to clearance could theoretically be a tad different here.
Nonetheless, the NBA seems confident that Mara will be able to suit up for the Thunder during the upcoming 2026-27 season, as Marc Stein of The Stein Line recently noted that his NCAA tenure should require no clearance from his Spanish team to play in the association.
Considering how well Mara has been playing this preseason, coupled with the Thunder's need for more size and physicality down in the middle to battle with guys like Victor Wembanyama come playoff time, this latest report should certainly be encouraging for OKC, though, until a resolution is officially come to, this is a situation worth monitoring.
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