BREAKING: OJ Mayo traded for Kevin Love

[Bgil]

Minny is (Please Use More Appropriate Word) for doing this deal. OJ Mayo is gonna be a superstar somewhere between Arenas and D-Wade (prime) if not better. Love is gonna be a slighlty better Andrew Bogut.

[sarah42]

Can't believe they broke up the potential Gay Love combination.

Just as bad as the time Houston ended their Gay Head combo.

i have to say I let out a big laugh on that one. very very funny.

as for the trade it may not be bad but minny is going to suck for the next 5 years. don't see how they'll even sniff the playoffs. the good news for them - both memphis and seattle will even be worse, so they won't be alone. i can see minny looking like the the new clippers of this generation. making the playoffs once every 15 years..........ugh.

kevin mchale makes me sad.

[sarah42]

i'm sorry, but did mayo have a problem with playing in minnesota, but now thats he's in memphis, he's okay with that city?

what, did he think he couldn't get any shoe deal playing in sota? cuz i recall one talented big man getting tonnes of deals throughout his tenure with the wolves.

memphis and sports just don't go together. just like a friggen grizzlie and Tennessee.

some players are so big headed. ugh.

[Ballings7]

Kobe/Vlade part two?

[wolves_fan_82au]

Minny is (Please Use More Appropriate Word) for doing this deal. OJ Mayo is gonna be a superstar somewhere between Arenas and D-Wade (prime) if not better. Love is gonna be a slighlty better Andrew Bogut.

Andrew Bogut is a prettty decent player

hes worked a lot on hes game and hes getting better each year , i think he could be a lot better than he is now if he wasnt on the bucks

[AQuintus]

i'm sorry, but did mayo have a problem with playing in minnesota, but now thats he's in memphis, he's okay with that city?

From what I understand, (and this is mostly going off of what Banks(332?), a guy who knows Mayo personally, has said) Mayo was didn't mind at all being drafted by Minnesota. He even said that he was looking forward to learning the NBA game from the T-Wolves players.

what, did he think he couldn't get any shoe deal playing in sota? cuz i recall one talented big man getting tonnes of deals throughout his tenure with the wolves.

He actually signed a shoe deal with Nike either right before or right after he was drafted by Minnesota.

memphis and sports just don't go together. just like a friggen grizzlie and Tennessee.

I don't know the city, so I won't say anything about that, but just looking at Memphis' roster, as long as they can get a legit post presence in next year's draft (Blake Griffen comes to mind), they have an incredible future.

some players are so big headed. ugh.

Everything I've seen and read about the guy recently says that he's very level headed and humble.

As for my take on the trade, as a Wolves fan, I have to say that both teams lost in this deal.

Memphis traded away the legit post presence that they desperately need (and one who can help their running game with a sweet outlet pass on top of that) and they lost a great trade asset that could have gotten them something great at the trade deadline this year.

Minnesota, on the other hand, killed their rebuilding movement by bringing in a 28 year old player who will take them out of top draft pick contention but won't lead them to any sort of playoff contention (and seeing as how he was a major part of this trade, he won't be used as a valuable trading asset any time soon), they took away any chance of a good defensive big man getting any major minutes by inserting Love into the lineup, and they effectively made themselves the worst defensive team in the league.

So, Memphis made themselves much worse in the long term but left the possibility of a bright future wide open depending on future personal moves. Minnesota, though, bought themselves an extra 10-20 wins next year at the expense of almost all hope of winning a championship in the conceivable future.

It's amazing what can happen when the league's two worst GMs get together to make a trade.

[jefe]

i'm sorry, but did mayo have a problem with playing in minnesota, but now thats he's in memphis, he's okay with that city?

He's said as much regarding Memphis; regarding Minny, I don't know.

what, did he think he couldn't get any shoe deal playing in sota? cuz i recall one talented big man getting tonnes of deals throughout his tenure with the wolves.

As already said, he inked a deal with Nike prior to the draft.

memphis and sports just don't go together. just like a friggen grizzlie and Tennessee.

Ok, sure. You obviously know nothing about basketball in Memphis - and probably nothing about Memphis in general. But go ahead and bash without any knowledge, if it makes you feel better.

some players are so big headed. ugh.

I agree with this - Mayo does have a big head - what with his 29 on his ACT.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/29/all-eyes-on-oj-o/ (bottom)

[Don Draper]

I'm gonna say this at the beginning of the year I was very high on Bayless. I saw a high school game and a bunch of clips and I thought he was a sure fire NBA stud.

But when I watched OJ Mayo play I knew he was the truth. What impressed me most has his defense and they way he works off the ball. The guy has loads of talent. People want to isolate his stats but he progressed so much during the season that the beginning of the season is almost irrelevant.

[wolves_fan_82au]

Minnesota, on the other hand, killed their rebuilding movement by bringing in a 28 year old player who will take them out of top draft pick contention but won't lead them to any sort of playoff contention (and seeing as how he was a major part of this trade, he won't be used as a valuable trading asset any time soon), they took away any chance of a good defensive big man getting any major minutes by inserting Love into the lineup, and they effectively made themselves the worst defensive team in the league.

um lol if miller and Gasol couldnt get wins for memphis how are the wolves gonna win games

we will score points but so will the other teams ,defense wins games and we dont have any of that
plus dont u think Miller will be traded half way through the year for something decent???

[realball]

It's not that bad for Minnesota. Am I the only one who feels that Kevin Love may compliment Al Jefferson extremely well? He can play the high-post while Jefferson plays the low-post. And Love can play the pick-and-pop with Foye and throw outlet passes to a sprinting Corey Brewer all day. Defensively, it's questionable, but Love's strength and fundamentals are extremely underrated. I think he can guard the best big man on any opposing team.

Though I can't believe McHale couldn't land Lowry. Foye and Lowry were college teammates, and Lowry would be an excellent replacement for Bassy Telfair.

Great deal for Memphis, now they just need a legit big man. Who knows, maybe Darrell Arthur will become the next Shareef-Abdur Rahim for them.

[bgassassin]

Minnesota, on the other hand, killed their rebuilding movement by bringing in a 28 year old player who will take them out of top draft pick contention but won't lead them to any sort of playoff contention (and seeing as how he was a major part of this trade, he won't be used as a valuable trading asset any time soon), they took away any chance of a good defensive big man getting any major minutes by inserting Love into the lineup, and they effectively made themselves the worst defensive team in the league.

I agree. Look at how the Grizzlies did. We ended up with the 5th pick.


Just thought I'd add some numbers (from a Griz fan's view).

Walker is basically a $9M expiring contract. Collins $6M.

Miller and Cardinal will earn a combined $16.5M after the 08/09 season. Jaric and Buckner will earn a combined $11.1 giving us an additional $5.4M in savings.

The last 2 years of Buckner's deal are only guaranteed for $1m. Expect him to be waived after the upcoming season adding almost another $3M to that $5.4M.

[wolves_fan_82au]

Minnesota, on the other hand, killed their rebuilding movement by bringing in a 28 year old player who will take them out of top draft pick contention but won't lead them to any sort of playoff contention (and seeing as how he was a major part of this trade, he won't be used as a valuable trading asset any time soon), they took away any chance of a good defensive big man getting any major minutes by inserting Love into the lineup, and they effectively made themselves the worst defensive team in the league.

So, Memphis made themselves much worse in the long term but left the possibility of a bright future wide open depending on future personal moves. Minnesota, though, bought themselves an extra 10-20 wins next year at the expense of almost all hope of winning a championship in the conceivable future.

It's amazing what can happen when the league's two worst GMs get together to make a trade.

wtf memphis had a much better roster last year and Miller couldnt get them a extra 10-20 wins why would he for us

some people here have lost it

[deeney0]

It's not that bad for Minnesota. Am I the only one who feels that Kevin Love may compliment Al Jefferson extremely well? He can play the high-post while Jefferson plays the low-post. And Love can play the pick-and-pop with Foye and throw outlet passes to a sprinting Corey Brewer all day. Defensively, it's questionable, but Love's strength and fundamentals are extremely underrated. I think he can guard the best big man on any opposing team.

I'm not sure you could find a better offensive compliment to Al. The concern is defense. On paper, they're going to get destroyed. But if they can both continue to study and improve, maybe in a couple years they can be adequate - and maybe that's enough if they can score a lot and find a couple stellar wing defenders.

I'd still rather have Mayo, but I console myself with the knowledge that at least the Wolves move Jaric and got Miller out of it. Better than drafting Love at #3.

I also wonder where all the Mayo haters have gone to. I don't agree with them, but this board was full of them last week. All I heard was that this was a two player draft, Mayo was a step too slow, Mayo's arms are too short, Mayo has character issues. Suddenly the Wolves trade him, and Mayo is going to become a star. (Actually, I don't blame anyone for using that logic. See: Allen, Ray and Roy, Brandon)

[DG4L]

Wow. An NBA GM chuckles at the thought of even comparing Mayo and Love as prospects, and instead compares Love to Sheldon Williams (BUST).

So, McHale helped the Celtics win the championship. He helped Portland become a future dynasty. Now he's helped Memphis become relevant.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/vi ... p?t=428187

There's a chuckle on the other end of the receiver. The general manager thinks the question is kind of funny. UCLA big man Kevin Love has some potential. But not quite the potential -- or the immediate impact -- of USC guard O.J. Mayo.

"Think about it," the G.M. says. "What's the worst-case scenario with Mayo? He'll be a starter, maybe he'll be a combo guard that you have trouble figuring out if you play him at the 1 or the 2. But with Love, there's a chance he is in over his head. He could be a Shelden Williams type."

So there's your answer. Mayo has negatives. He is undersized for a shooting guard (6-4), did not play point guard in college and averaged more turnovers than assists in his one year with the Trojans. He can be streaky with his shot, and allegations about Mayo taking money while in high school and college revive some concerns about his character.

But the things Mayo does well far outweigh the potential problems. He is a super-smooth ballhandler with quickness and a 41-inch vertical leap. He may be streaky, but when his shot is on, it is deadly, and he can make it from difficult angles -- no one in this draft class can create a shot quite like Mayo can.

"He's a guy who, when the (shot) clock is running down, you want the ball in his hands," the GM says. "He will get you a good shot in those situations."