UCLA Basketball: Bruins' Best Player Expected To Decide On NBA Future Soon

The UCLA Bruins' best player, sophomore center/power forward Adem Bona, has yet to officially decide on his playing future. According to Tracy Pierson of Bruin Report Online, the 6'10" big man is expected to announce his intentions sooner rather than later. Pierson reports that fifth-year head coach Mick Cronin will tackle the NCAA transfer portal when it comes to adding a replacement at the position.

Aday Mara, a top prospect expected to be a one-and-done big man with the program, underwhelmed mightily as a freshman. It's not clear what his plans for the immediate future are, either.

Pierson reports that there is a slight expectation that Bona will declare for the draft, but that some folks are looking to encourage him to rejoin the Bruins for a third season instead. Projected to be a second round draft pick this summer if he does declare, Pierson notes that Bona could draw a better salary in cumulative Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals than he probably could in the NBA just yet.

According to Pierson, Cronin and his staff have already engaged in exploratory talks with big men who are entering the transfer portal. The money ostensibly allocated to a hypothetical junior year run for Bona in a UCLA NIL package could be shifted to other intriguing transfer portal pieces, Pierson observes.