Aday Mara (2005) - the spanish freak?

[Cammo101]

I like Mara, but IMO there is just too much risk there to feel good about taking him in the top 10. I felt similarly about Edey.

[JMAC3]

I don't know with certainty with Mara, I just think he has had great pub the last 2 months that caused him to go from a borderline first round talent to a top 5 pick. That to me is a red flag and probably doesn't end up pretty for the team that drafts him.

Patrick Williams was another guy that went from borderline top 20 guy to going 4th overall.
Even Davion Mitchell got an incredible rise when Baylor won the natty- him as 15th pick was a lot more palatable as a good role player instead of going top 10.
Walter Clayton went 18th over Kasparas, Traore, Will Riley and Hugo. Will see how that ages.
Jarrett Culver went 6th after Texas Tech went to finals and lost to UVA and Deandre Hunter 4th
Zach Collins went 10th after Gonzaga lost in natty.


I think Mara should go 15-20 where grabbing a rotation big is a solid pick. Drafting Bigs top 5 they need to be special offensively and Mara good outcome is another center who can put up 10/8 in 26 mins. That is a good asset at 18, not so great of a pick 6th or 7th.

I think even in the 20s, that's a risk. He needs at least 3 full GLeague seasons.

I don't think so, teams aren't taking Juniors who need 3 Gleague seasons in the first round- which was where he was all year before the surge up boards. Also you are underestimating how bad most backup centers are in the NBA- he can find minutes off the bench pretty easily. Jaxson Hayes is a starter, Tony Bradley plays real minutes every year, Thomas Bryant keeps getting contracts, Taj Gibson has played real minutes the last two years, Jericho Sims is an NBA player-- it doesn't take much if you are tall.

Again, not a Mara guy myself but you are skewing so far left that if he is Drew Eubanks levels good you are going to be made fun of still.

[King Ken]

I don't know with certainty with Mara, I just think he has had great pub the last 2 months that caused him to go from a borderline first round talent to a top 5 pick. That to me is a red flag and probably doesn't end up pretty for the team that drafts him.

Patrick Williams was another guy that went from borderline top 20 guy to going 4th overall.
Even Davion Mitchell got an incredible rise when Baylor won the natty- him as 15th pick was a lot more palatable as a good role player instead of going top 10.
Walter Clayton went 18th over Kasparas, Traore, Will Riley and Hugo. Will see how that ages.
Jarrett Culver went 6th after Texas Tech went to finals and lost to UVA and Deandre Hunter 4th
Zach Collins went 10th after Gonzaga lost in natty.


I think Mara should go 15-20 where grabbing a rotation big is a solid pick. Drafting Bigs top 5 they need to be special offensively and Mara good outcome is another center who can put up 10/8 in 26 mins. That is a good asset at 18, not so great of a pick 6th or 7th.

I think even in the 20s, that's a risk. He needs at least 3 full GLeague seasons.

I don't think so, teams aren't taking Juniors who need 3 Gleague seasons in the first round- which was where he was all year before the surge up boards. Also you are underestimating how bad most backup centers are in the NBA- he can find minutes off the bench pretty easily. Jaxson Hayes is a starter, Tony Bradley plays real minutes every year, Thomas Bryant keeps getting contracts, Taj Gibson has played real minutes the last two years, Jericho Sims is an NBA player-- it doesn't take much if you are tall.

Again, not a Mara guy myself but you are skewing so far left that if he is Drew Eubanks levels good you are going to be made fun of still.

He needs 3 full years. His body is a massive issue that will only be noticeable in the NBA

Those guys are substantially ahead of where he is physically and athletically

[JMAC3]

I like Mara, but IMO there is just too much risk there to feel good about taking him in the top 10. I felt similarly about Edey.

I know everyone is pumped about Edey too, but he hasn't done anything yet. If anything he has proven he can't stay healthy and now he is a going to be 24 years old averaging 10/9. If he signs an extension for 20 million maybe that is good find, but to me he is still nothing special at the position. Which for his draftclass that is fine because it was a bad draft- but no chance I am taking Edey 5th in this draft class.

[King Ken]

I like Mara, but IMO there is just too much risk there to feel good about taking him in the top 10. I felt similarly about Edey.

I know everyone is pumped about Edey too, but he hasn't done anything yet. If anything he has proven he can't stay healthy and now he is a going to be 24 years old averaging 10/9. If he signs an extension for 20 million maybe that is good find, but to me he is still nothing special at the position. Which for his draftclass that is fine because it was a bad draft- but no chance I am taking Edey 5th in this draft class.

The gap between he and Edey is extraordinary. Edey tape was always a lot better than the skeptics stated for the NBA.

To sit here and Edey hasn't done anything is wild and false. He has some of the better center metrics in the league. He's just had some bad injuries. That's about it.

https://databallr.com/stats/player/zach-edey/1641744

[JMAC3]

Yeah I just don't care about an 11 game season. Those stats are pretty meaningless as a standalone data point.

[NO-KG-AI]

Yeah I just don't care about an 11 game season. Those stats are pretty meaningless as a standalone data point.

Is it a single data point though? I don’t think he’s on track to be a star, but he had absolutely elite production, surprised with athletic combine workouts, and has shown some pretty strong metrics in limited NBA time. He’s sort of passed every test up to this point, outside of health at the pro level.

[HMFFL]

Good summary. Seems like a great kid that really wants it. Which means very little, sadly.

He should donate a lot of his rookie deal to May and Michigan. Or May should follow him to the pros (no no no, Dusty, please don’t).

Exactly it.
I watched his UCLA days, in person, and on tv. Every game.

Aday was as soft and as clueless as I have ever seen.

[Upperclass]

People are very wrong on Mara. Season will be interesting..

[tmorgan]

People are very wrong on Mara. Season will be interesting..

Sure, if you have G-League season tickets. Maybe some epic Mara v Yang duels.

[peZt]

I'm always suprised as to how and why people can become so obsessed and enganged with talking **** about a prospect. Why do people feel the need to so desperately prove that a young prospect sucks? Discussing players is one thing, but to have 1203123 posts that all sound like "No you are wrong, this kid sucks" is just weird.
Like you can post one highlight and you can set your alarm to when certain 1-2 users will come and reply "This highlight means nothing, these are the 10 reasons why this kid sucks"

[tmorgan]

I'm always suprised as to how and why people can become so obsessed and enganged with talking **** about a prospect. Why do people feel the need to so desperately prove that a young prospect sucks? Discussing players is one thing, but to have 1203123 posts that all sound like "No you are wrong, this kid sucks" is just weird.
Like you can post one highlight and you can set your alarm to when certain 1-2 users will come and reply "This highlight means nothing, these are the 10 reasons why this kid sucks"

Not sure who you are addressing with this, but since I was the last one to post negatively, I’ll assume I’m part of it, which is dead wrong.

I watched all but I think 3 Michigan games this year. My opinions on the three Michigan front court players vary widely. It’s not hate — I love these guys — it’s honesty.

I’m extremely high on Morez Johnson. I think he has a ton to unlock yet and is going to be a good starter in the NBA in a few years. He’s a great pick for a rebuilding team looking to invest in an all-around 4 that can score at three levels and play defense.

I’m high on Yaxel Lendeborg translating well and being a positive contributor almost immediately. I don’t see any kind of star upside the way I do with Morez (not likely, but possible), but a contending team can pick Yax as a plug-and-play 4/3 off the bench with potential as a starter soon.

Aday Mara, though, is going to have a tough time in the NBA as a rookie, though he may have potential as a bench big when size is needed a couple of years down the road. The idea that he could be picked before the other two is absolutely ridiculous to me. People talk about the increased spacing in the NBA and how it’ll help the big names in the draft, and I believe that. It’s going to kill Mara, though. He’s slow, he has poor stamina, he has a suspect outside shot, and he’s going to struggle with holding position against stronger players.

This is just how I see it for my guys. I’d like nothing more than for all three to be All-Stars. Realistically, though, the only one with a shot at that is Morez, and it won’t be soon.

[Nate the Great]

I'm always suprised as to how and why people can become so obsessed and enganged with talking **** about a prospect. Why do people feel the need to so desperately prove that a young prospect sucks? Discussing players is one thing, but to have 1203123 posts that all sound like "No you are wrong, this kid sucks" is just weird.
Like you can post one highlight and you can set your alarm to when certain 1-2 users will come and reply "This highlight means nothing, these are the 10 reasons why this kid sucks"

Not sure who you addressing with this, but since I was the last one to post negatively, I’ll assume I’m part of it, which is dead wrong.

King Ken has posted on this thread about 30 times in the last month and a half. That’s probably who he’s talking about. I’m not a fan of the player either, but it does strike me as a bit excessive.

[BostoNZ]

I'm always suprised as to how and why people can become so obsessed and enganged with talking **** about a prospect. Why do people feel the need to so desperately prove that a young prospect sucks? Discussing players is one thing, but to have 1203123 posts that all sound like "No you are wrong, this kid sucks" is just weird.
Like you can post one highlight and you can set your alarm to when certain 1-2 users will come and reply "This highlight means nothing, these are the 10 reasons why this kid sucks"

Not sure who you are addressing with this, but since I was the last one to post negatively, I’ll assume I’m part of it, which is dead wrong.

I watched all but I think 3 Michigan games this year. My opinions on the three Michigan front court players vary widely. It’s not hate — I love these guys — it’s honesty.

I’m extremely high on Morez Johnson. I think he has a ton to unlock yet and is going to be a good starter in the NBA in a few years. He’s a great pick for a rebuilding team looking to invest in an all-around 4 that can score at three levels and play defense.

I’m high on Yaxel Lendeborg translating well and being a positive contributor almost immediately. I don’t see any kind of star upside the way I do with Morez (not likely, but possible), but a contending team can pick Yax as a plug-and-play 4/3 off the bench with potential as a starter soon.

Aday Mara, though, is going to have a tough time in the NBA as a rookie, though he may have potential as a bench big when size is needed a couple of years down the road. The idea that he could be picked before the other two is absolutely ridiculous to me. People talk about the increased spacing in the NBA and how it’ll help the big names in the draft, and I believe that. It’s going to kill Mara, though. He’s slow, he has poor stamina, he has a suspect outside shot, and he’s going to struggle with holding position against stronger players.

This is just how I see it for my guys. I’d like nothing more than for all three to be All-Stars. Realistically, though, the only one with a shot at that is Morez, and it won’t be soon.

Nice post

I like Morez and think Thunder will be all over him at #12

[FarBeyondDriven]

btw he's not coming out of nowhere. This thread was started years ago for a reason. Because of his elite BBIQ, size, shot-blocking around the basket and passing ability he's a unique prospect. Had he been utilized properly at UCLA there's a good chance he would have been drafted already. I think it's pretty obvious that he wasn't used well and as soon as he transfers to a coach that does he immediately looks like the prospect many of us envisioned years ago. He's worked on his body, he looks stronger and more fluid. He's shown some ability to move his feet well enough to look surprisingly capable of defending the perimeter on some switches, in college at least. To me he still looks pretty raw but someone I'd love to invest a lottery pick on and bring him along slowly hoping that in a few years you've got a starting center that can be a mismatch. Until then, he should be no worse than any other backup/spot starting center. This is similar to the Clinan and Edey picks from a couple of years ago. He's in the same tier as they are as a prospect imo but I don't hold it against someone if they disagree.

[tmorgan]

btw he's not coming out of nowhere. This thread was started years ago for a reason. Because of his elite BBIQ, size, shot-blocking around the basket and passing ability he's a unique prospect. Had he been utilized properly at UCLA there's a good chance he would have been drafted already. I think it's pretty obvious that he wasn't used well and as soon as he transfers to a coach that does he immediately looks like the prospect many of us envisioned years ago. He's worked on his body, he looks stronger and more fluid. He's shown some ability to move his feet well enough to look surprisingly capable of defending the perimeter on some switches, in college at least. To me he still looks pretty raw but someone I'd love to invest a lottery pick on and bring him along slowly hoping that in a few years you've got a starting center that can be a mismatch. Until then, he should be no worse than any other backup/spot starting center. This is similar to the Clinan and Edey picks from a couple of years ago. He's in the same tier as they are as a prospect imo but I don't hold it against someone if they disagree.

Aday has some skills, there’s no doubt about that. The difference between him, Clingan and Edey is in the body types.

All three, as huge humans, have some stamina issues. Clingan had REALLY bad stamina issues in college and as a rookie, but he’s gotten better, so there’s similar hope for Mara. Edey interestingly has the least problems with stamina, but you also don’t see him trying to sprint out like Clingan does very frequently,

It goes beyond that, though.

Edey, after toning up some since Purdue, seems very fit and has a normal looking (except monstrously huge) body. He’s similar to someone like Mark Eaton (RIP), a body type that isn’t conducive to speed but has a typical center of gravity and can carry a ton of good weight. He’s still having injury problems, sadly, but there’s hope he can get his legs and feet healthy and have a good career. Truly an intimidating half court force when healthy.

Climgan’s a little armier and leggier than Edey and not as thick, but still decently stout. He’s easier to move but makes up for it with his arms. Now that he has his stamina issues under control, his decent shooting range and defensive mobility make him a very useful player, despite sometimes getting pushed around at least a little bit.

Mara is even more unique, but not likely in a good way. He’s a touch shorter than Edey and taller than Clingan, but has a standing reach two inches higher than both. This man is all arms and legs, even more so than Clingan. He needs to add serious muscle, especially to his legs, and he’s still carrying some extra useless weight as Edey was in college. There’s no changing his high center of gravity, though, because his legs are really, really long. Holding boxouts is going to be a problem, and despite his very long strides, he doesn’t move particularly well either end to end or laterally. He’s as immobile as Edey with strength even worse than Clingan right now, and his body looks very hard to change.

Who knows, maybe he ends up making it as a starter down the line. I don’t see that as likely, though, because he has some of the weaknesses of both guys mentioned here (immobile like Edey, no offensive range like Edey, but weaker on both ends like Clingan).

[peZt]

I'm always suprised as to how and why people can become so obsessed and enganged with talking **** about a prospect. Why do people feel the need to so desperately prove that a young prospect sucks? Discussing players is one thing, but to have 1203123 posts that all sound like "No you are wrong, this kid sucks" is just weird.
Like you can post one highlight and you can set your alarm to when certain 1-2 users will come and reply "This highlight means nothing, these are the 10 reasons why this kid sucks"

Not sure who you are addressing with this, but since I was the last one to post negatively, I’ll assume I’m part of it, which is dead wrong.

I watched all but I think 3 Michigan games this year. My opinions on the three Michigan front court players vary widely. It’s not hate — I love these guys — it’s honesty.

I’m extremely high on Morez Johnson. I think he has a ton to unlock yet and is going to be a good starter in the NBA in a few years. He’s a great pick for a rebuilding team looking to invest in an all-around 4 that can score at three levels and play defense.

I’m high on Yaxel Lendeborg translating well and being a positive contributor almost immediately. I don’t see any kind of star upside the way I do with Morez (not likely, but possible), but a contending team can pick Yax as a plug-and-play 4/3 off the bench with potential as a starter soon.

Aday Mara, though, is going to have a tough time in the NBA as a rookie, though he may have potential as a bench big when size is needed a couple of years down the road. The idea that he could be picked before the other two is absolutely ridiculous to me. People talk about the increased spacing in the NBA and how it’ll help the big names in the draft, and I believe that. It’s going to kill Mara, though. He’s slow, he has poor stamina, he has a suspect outside shot, and he’s going to struggle with holding position against stronger players.

This is just how I see it for my guys. I’d like nothing more than for all three to be All-Stars. Realistically, though, the only one with a shot at that is Morez, and it won’t be soon.

I dont think I was referencing you, your name doesnt look familiar in this context. Its just that every single time I open this thread I see the same 1-2 names going on the same exact tirades since the start of the season. And its always the same pattern: Somebody says something positive, the same 2 guys come and immediately are like "You are completely wrong, he sucks, teams will regret picking him". The same pattern the whole season. Good game? "This means nothing, please pick him top 10 and regret it". Good combine measurements? "We know he was long and tall, this means nothing". Bad combine measurements? "Seeee I told you he was slow as ****, you'll regret picking him
I literally only see the exact same posts since the start of the season, even if no games are happening they come here and manage to find something bad to say about this player.

Like I know this is a forum and its whole purpose is discussion and engagement but at some point it feels more like an obsession. People are so desperate to prove they are right about a player being bad that they would celebrate if they fail.

[tmorgan]

Like I know this is a forum and its whole purpose is discussion and engagement but at some point it feels more like an obsession. People are so desperate to prove they are right about a player being bad that they would celebrate if they fail.

Yeah, this right here does feel very true to me as well.

I’d also add that admitting being wrong is a very rare event as well. It’s all stubbornness and pride in here.

[HMFFL]

I think Golden State wants Aday Mara.
Green can be the 4/5 and Aday works the inside.

[Upperclass]

I think OKC trades up for him