Aday Mara’s first taste of NBA Summer League came with a rough edge.
The Oklahoma City Thunder used the No. 12 overall pick on the former Michigan big man, and the buzz around him was easy to understand. Mara arrived fresh off a national title with the Wolverines and a huge 2025 season that featured 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. That kind of production is why the Thunder are invested in what comes next.
But Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers wasn’t the part that raised eyebrows. It was Mara’s own debut.
The 7-foot-3 center never found his footing offensively, going without a field goal against a Lakers lineup that didn’t feature a true center. He had two early shots blocked, and the bigger concern was how those plays seemed to affect him. Rather than settling in, he appeared to lose some of his confidence as the game went on.
There were still flashes. Mara finished with two blocks and seven rebounds, a reminder of the defensive upside that made him such an appealing prospect in the first place.
Even so, the Thunder need more than rim protection from him. They need those tools to turn into points.
He managed only two points in the game, which stood out even more when compared with his Michigan peers. Morez Johnson Jr. opened his NBA Summer League run with 27 points for the Dallas Mavericks against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, while Yaxel Lendeborg scored 21 points that same night.
The jump from college to the NBA is never clean, and Mara’s debut was a clear example of how steep that climb can be. He’s still a major talent, but he may need extra coaching to get there. If the Thunder can develop him properly, the ceiling is still there.
In Other News...
Lakers Just Made A Strange Luka-Connected Move Mavericks Fans Will Notice
The Lakers quietly cleaned up a long list of old roster paperwork this week, officially renouncing the free agent rights to Jared Dudley and several other former players. Dudley had already moved on from the court after retiring following the 2020-21 season and later shifting into coaching, so the move is mostly administrative at this point, but it does close the book on a Lakers stint that ended five years ago.
Still, the timing and the names attached to the transaction make it stand out a bit more than a routine housekeeping item. Along with Dudley, the Lakers also renounced rights to a group that includes LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Dion Waiters, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber, Nick Smith Jr., Avery Bradley, Jaxson Hayes, Markieff Morris and Wayne Ellington, a reminder of how long these rights can linger even after a player has clearly moved on. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Fans Are Already Wondering Whats Going On With Jon Elmore
Jon Elmores name on the Lakers Summer League roster was enough to get attention in Las Vegas, especially for a guard with a long, winding pro career and a rsum that still stands out from his college days at Marshall. Elmore has been through VMI, Marshall, overseas stops and several G League runs, and he arrived with a fresh 2025 G League championship from Stockton plus the kind of background that usually makes a player worth watching closely.
Instead, he was nowhere to be found in the first game, which naturally left Lakers fans wondering what kind of role, if any, he is actually being given in Vegas. Elmore is already 30, and while his path has included real production and plenty of experience, his playing time and his chances of turning this Summer League look into something more with the Lakers remain very much up in the air. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Fans May Not Like What This New Wing Rumor Means
Cameron Johnsons move from Brooklyn to Denver already gave the Nuggets a proven wing who can space the floor and fit cleanly around star talent, and his value only looks clearer when you consider how efficiently he has shot it from deep. For a Lakers team always watching the market for help on the perimeter, that kind of player naturally lands on the radar.
The wrinkle is that Denvers salary situation could push them into tough decisions even on players they like, which is why Johnson has surfaced in trade chatter at all. Los Angeles would have interest if he became available, but the Lakers do not exactly have a deep pile of assets to make a deal easy, so this is one of those rumors that makes sense in theory and gets complicated fast in practice. [Read more 🡒]