In August or September, the next NBA draft cycle is almost impossible to predict with any accuracy.
With the NBA still to begin training camp, it can be difficult to know what teams’ biggest needs are or how they’ll finish in the standings. Additionally, the college basketball season hasn’t even started yet, meaning many top prospects are still being ranked based on high school production.
While a handful of these players end up being selected in the lottery, a few will either be eliminated from the draft or return to school for another season.
In September 2023, Bleacher Report analyst Jonathan Wasserman predicted that the Oklahoma City Thunder would select the UCLA center. Aday Mara with the 14th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Standing at 6’3″ and weighing 240 pounds, the Spanish big man averaged 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field as a true freshman for the Bruins. After a disappointing first year of college basketball, Mara opted to return to school where he will have another chance to test the NBA Draft after his sophomore year.
Wasserman’s trade of Mara to OKC signals what many members of the national media thought about the Thunder before their impressive regular-season performance in 2023: that the team needed to add a big man.
Even after winning 57 games, many observers still thought Sam Presti and the company needed more size on the roster. Oklahoma City eventually addressed what was perceived as their biggest weakness, but not through the draft.
Instead, the team signed Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and selected two other players in the first round who will play on the perimeter in Nikola Theme And Dillon Jones.
In addition to Mara, Wasserman also placed Tyrese Proctor, DJ Wagner And Elmarko Jacksonwho all ended up returning to school in last September’s lottery, illustrating how difficult it is to project the NBA Draft at this point in the year.
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