Aday Mara tells Zaragoza that he wants to break his contract to go to the United States

Aday Mara, the 18-year-old pivot and 2.18m who is considered one of the great pearls of Spanish basketball, has informed his club, Casademont Zaragoza, that he intends to unilaterally break the contract that binds him to the entity for three more seasons and leave the team immediately. The Aragonese club, however, recalls the link that unites both parties and refers to the payment of its termination clause, an amount that varies depending on the campaigns and is currently 700,000 euros. This was expressed by Zaragoza this Wednesday morning in an official note: "The player Aday Mara has communicated to Basket Zaragoza his desire to unilaterally terminate his contract with the Club alleging reasons that this entity can not share. From the first day at Basket Zaragoza, as we do with all our youth players and in a very special way in the case of Aday, we have made available to the player all the means available to develop his complete academic, sports and human training. We respect your decision in the same way that we understand contracts must be respected. This has been the case in all cases of the players trained in our academy and, for the good and defense of the Club, we will be forced to adopt the necessary measures to keep it that way."

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In his communication to Zaragoza, Aday Mara alleges that the entity does not make available the necessary means for his training and development as a player, and that this is the reason for requesting his departure. The Aragonese entity considers that the situation has been the opposite, since, for example, it changed the usual training schedules (from morning to afternoon) so that the player could combine his sports preparation with his studies at the institute, and offered him specific training and a nutritionist service. Last March, for example, Aday Mara was not called up for an ACB match against Breogán because he was in exam time. Just before his coach, Porfirio Fisac, had given him a wake-up call for his protests to the referees: "I am not happy with him, I would like him to have another series of conditions. Not in the game, which is growing and does not need excessive help from coaches. Yes in terms of the way of acting on the field, the way of talking to the referees. I want it to lower those revolutions a little bit. His parents are extraordinary people who are helping him a lot, but it is him on an individual level. There are things in which he has a lot of room for improvement and many of them do not have to be basketball. Small details such as talking to the referees, leaving the game if there is a foul that they do not whistle ... Small details that are logical but that I do not like in anyone and less in a young boy who is able to scream at an ACB referee. What the fuck do you have to talk to an ACB referee? The veterans speak. He is an extraordinary kid, he works with an important integrity and attitude. But I think there are things left for him to see what his maximum level is. It's not everything they say around him, it's more what you do with yourself."

Zaragoza recalls the case of Carlos Alocén, whose departure in 2019 to Real Madrid occurred in a friendly manner. The intention of Aday Mara is to play next season the university league of the United States, probably with UCLA, the University of California Los Angeles (which will also attend the Slovenian Jan Vide, best player of the last junior Euroleague won with Real Madrid) and be eligible for the NBA draft in 2024, just like Bronny James, the son of LeBron James. During that university stage, players do not charge from their clubs, which cannot therefore pay a termination clause to the teams of origin, but they can receive sponsorship income after the regulations were changed in July 2021.

Mara has played this course 22 games of the ACB, with 11m 47s, 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds on average. Last summer he was runner-up of the under-17 world championship with the Spanish national team, after the final lost to the United States. Already then the praise had skyrocketed towards a tower of 2.35m of wingspan with great skill for the shot, the dribble and the pass. "He has eyes on the back of his neck. Shows passing skills that are not taught. It has vision, synchronization and precision. Since Jokic we have not seen such a good European center passer, "could be read in the report of an NBA scout published by FIBA. Mara participated in a camp for young talents in the United States coinciding with the celebration of the past All Star. Now, the young promise wants to cross the pond, although for this a conflict has been opened with the club that has formed him, Zaragoza.

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