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To show you how year-round the basketball calendar is, the 2026 NBA draft is just a week away. Yep. Sneaked up on you, too, huh? The New York Knicks will spend the next few days celebrating their championship, but the rest of the league has shifted its focus to injecting its roster with youth.
That includes the Oklahoma City Thunder. Over this decade, they've enjoyed the best of both worlds. They went all the way to Game 7 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals. Now, they get a chance to add lottery talent. That's what happens when your front office is savvy and patient enough to think long term.
The Thunder will have three draft picks in this upcoming draft cycle — No. 12 via the LA Clippers; No. 17 via the Philadelphia 76ers; No. 37 via the Dallas Mavericks.
In ESPN's latest 2026 NBA mock draft, Jermy Woo hints that the Thunder could package draft picks to move up to get one of the three Michigan players who partially headline this year's class. Of course, the Wolverines came away with the 2026 national championship this past March Madness.
Woo had Michigan's Aday Mara go No. 11 to the Golden State Warriors. He averaged 12.1 points on 66.8% shooting, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 blocks this past season. The 21-year-old spent two years at UCLA before transferring to the Wolverines. He is a 7-foot-3, 255-pound center.
"Mara is expected to be the first center off the board and appears slated for the 8-to-12 range. There is strong interest in him, with Atlanta, Dallas, Golden State and Oklahoma City among the teams noted," Woo wrote. "And he could ultimately be a player teams trade up to acquire."
That's a little interesting. Guess we'll have to see how the Thunder approach the NBA draft. Historically speaking, OKC is an aggressive trade-first front office. It makes sense as the draft is their main source of adding talent to their group. If they sell the farm to get Mara, that obviously means they think he can be a long-term piece.
The 2026 NBA draft will take place from June 23-24. The Thunder will hope to add new faces to their group as they're about to undergo some roster changes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren remain OKC's pillars, but the supporting cast could be tweaked.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Rumor: OKC Thunder could trade up in 2026 NBA draft for Michigan's Aday Mara
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