Fords updated "10 names to be traded" list.

[scoop]

I'd like to see Memphis trying the Gasol-Thabeet combo. Thabee's quickness is very impressive, I believe there's a chance that pair could work.

Mayo isn't a good wing, but he can be an excellent complementary player for a contender more or less in the same role Mo Williams has in Cleveland - I believe he'll be a better player than Williams.

Rudy Gay can be a cornerstone for a contender if he develops his non-scoring contributions. I wouldn't be very optimistic - I think it was wise from Memphis to not extend his contract. A Monta Ellis type of contract is a threshold they shouldn't surpass.

I'm not sure about Randolph's role. Can't see any, except allowing them to give the young players some playoff experience and increasing their trade value. Too much of a high maintenance, one way player. They can probably use a player like him in the future, but they're not there yet.

[moiso]

I have him ranked ahead of Ray right now.  I think Mayo could be somewhere in between Redd and Joe Johnson, with better ballhandling.

[moiso]

SG -- OJ Mayo is a mediocre or slightly below average starting shooting guard. He doesn't appear to have star potential, at least not at this position but perhaps he does at the PG.

Woah hold on.

In his second season, he's averaging 18pts, 3.8reb and 3.2asst with 1 steal a game and .457 field goal percentage and .380 3pt percentage.  That's mediocre or slightly below average?

Where would you rank him amongst starting two guards?

Top 5? Top 10? Top 15? Top 20? Lower?

Starting Shooting Guards

ATL - Joe Johnson
BOS - Ray Allen
CHA - Stephen Jackson
CHI - Kirk Hinrich
CLE - Anthony Parker
DEN - Arron Afflalo
DAL - Josh Howard
DET - Rip Hamilton
GSW - Monta Ellis
HOU - Trevor Ariza
IND - Mike Dunleavy or Brandon Rush
LAC - Eric Gordon
LAL - Kobe Bryant
MIA - Dwyane Wade
MEM - OJ Mayo
MIL - Michael Redd
MIN - Corey Brewer
NOH - Devin Brown
NJN - Courtney Lee
NYK - Wilson Chandler
ORL - Vince Carter
PHI - Allen Iverson
OKL - Thabo Sefolosha
PHO - Jason Richardson
POR - Brandon Roy
SAC - Kevin Martin
SAN - Manu Ginobili
TOR - DeMar DeRozan
UTA - Ronnie Brewer
WAS - Mike Miller

If I were putting together a team I'd take him 6th from that list.

Because of his age or his talent?

In terms of current ability, where would you rank him?

And also, what type of potential do you think he has? Do you think he can be a lot more than what he presently is? How good can he become?

I think he could play and score like Monta Ellis right now if he wanted to, but he has figured out at an early age that style is counterproductive to winning.

[Chief]

Long term, they are going wherever Michael Heisley permits them to go. The first question is, will they match an offer sheet for Rudy Gay and, in future years, will they spend the money to retain young talent like Mayo and Conley?

If Memphis retains their present players and builds around them ...

Do you think they have the potential to grow into a contender?

You kind of need a superstar to be an elite team, and right now Memphis has four very good players.  The Pistons were built this way and contended for years, but it's pretty rare.  I could see Memphis developing these guys for a while and then pull the trigger if a real nice offer comes along.  Too bad they blew this years draft.

In comparison to Detroit, do they have a singular talent as good as (1) Chauncey Billups and/or (2) Ben Wallace and/or (3) Rasheed Wallace?

I think they have the Rip Hamilton level players across their starting frontcourt.

Right now, no.  But who knows how much the young guys will improve.  Remember, Billups and Ben were not Billups and Ben in their second years in the league.  Ben was clinging for dear life and Billups was traded like 7 times.

I guess it comes down to how much potential you believe each of the individual players have:

(1) Mike Conley -- not assertive enough to fulfill his potential. Will be a role player, a very good one.
(2) OJ Mayo -- I don't see much potential for him as a two guard but I like him as a big point guard. Unfortunately, Memphis uses him as a two.
(3) Zach Randolph -- He is what he is. Established player.

(4) Marc Gasol -- No idea what to expect. Wouldn't even try to guess.
(5) Rudy Gay -- has very good potential.

I think one of their five starters has a large amount of potential and one of them is a wild card. Not optimistic on the three other starters, although, would be a lot more interested in OJ Mayo if he played the point.

Have you seen them lately? They are one of the hottest teams in the league. Randolph is a top 3 PF right now (look at the #s), Gasol is looking legit, and Conely is doing a wonderful job running the team.
As far as Mayo, the kid is a good sg. He is very willing to take and make clutch shots.

[ManUp]

I have him ranked ahead of Ray right now.  I think Mayo could be somewhere in between Redd and Joe Johnson, with better ballhandling.

He reminds me a lot of a young Ray, but with less range.

[moiso]

I have him ranked ahead of Ray right now.  I think Mayo could be somewhere in between Redd and Joe Johnson, with better ballhandling.

He reminds me a lot of a young Ray, but with less range.

Yeah pretty similar.  Not quite the athlete Ray was either.

[Who]

I have him ranked ahead of Ray right now.  I think Mayo could be somewhere in between Redd and Joe Johnson, with better ballhandling.

He reminds me a lot of a young Ray, but with less range.

Only with less passing ability, rebounding ability, less athleticism and less scoring ability.

I just don't see what you guys are seeing in OJ Mayo. He does so little for his team outside of scoring (defense, rebounding, passing) and he's not that good of a scorer either. Not prolific (18ppg) or overly efficient (TS% of 54.8%). He's a solid scorer, a nice third option type of threat.

I don't see a star level impact from Mayo during games or mass potential when I watch him play. Too one-dimensional (only above average in his scoring ability). Not enough elsewhere.

[Change]

Grizzlies has to luckiest franchise in the league. They got screwed big time by the lakers, but lucky them Marc Gasol who wasn't NBA material then somehow morphed into a legit NBA starting Center. OJ Mayo was gift wrapped by the Timber-Wolves no offense to Kevin Love. Rudy Gay was passed by Toronto Raptors for (Andrea Bargnani), Charlotte Bobcats for (Adam Morrison), Chicago Bulls for (Tyrus Thomas), Atlanta Hawks for (Shelden Williams), and Minnesota Timber-wolves for (Randy Foye). Zach Randolph was supposed to be 'Cancer', and now he is the leader of the team. Maybe it wasn't luck, it was doing of Chris Wallace.  

[wdleehi]

Grizzlies has to luckiest franchise in the league. They got screwed big time by the lakers, but lucky them Marc Gasol who wasn't NBA material then somehow morphed into a legit NBA starting Center. OJ Mayo was gift wrapped by the Timber-Wolves no offense to Kevin Love. Rudy Gay was passed by Toronto Raptors for (Andrea Bargnani), Charlotte Bobcats for (Adam Morrison), Chicago Bulls for (Tyrus Thomas), Atlanta Hawks for (Shelden Williams), and Minnesota Timber-wolves for (Randy Foye). Zach Randolph was supposed to be 'Cancer', and now he is the leader of the team. Maybe it wasn't luck, it was doing of Chris Wallace.  

I would hope no offense to Love.

Love is the better NBA player.

[Change]

Grizzlies has to luckiest franchise in the league. They got screwed big time by the lakers, but lucky them Marc Gasol who wasn't NBA material then somehow morphed into a legit NBA starting Center. OJ Mayo was gift wrapped by the Timber-Wolves no offense to Kevin Love. Rudy Gay was passed by Toronto Raptors for (Andrea Bargnani), Charlotte Bobcats for (Adam Morrison), Chicago Bulls for (Tyrus Thomas), Atlanta Hawks for (Shelden Williams), and Minnesota Timber-wolves for (Randy Foye). Zach Randolph was supposed to be 'Cancer', and now he is the leader of the team. Maybe it wasn't luck, it was doing of Chris Wallace.  

I would hope no offense to Love.

Love is the better NBA player.

Kevin Love isn't even the best PF on his team. Kevin Love is nice player, but in the long run he isn't worth trading OJ Mayo for.

[wdleehi]

Grizzlies has to luckiest franchise in the league. They got screwed big time by the lakers, but lucky them Marc Gasol who wasn't NBA material then somehow morphed into a legit NBA starting Center. OJ Mayo was gift wrapped by the Timber-Wolves no offense to Kevin Love. Rudy Gay was passed by Toronto Raptors for (Andrea Bargnani), Charlotte Bobcats for (Adam Morrison), Chicago Bulls for (Tyrus Thomas), Atlanta Hawks for (Shelden Williams), and Minnesota Timber-wolves for (Randy Foye). Zach Randolph was supposed to be 'Cancer', and now he is the leader of the team. Maybe it wasn't luck, it was doing of Chris Wallace.  

I would hope no offense to Love.

Love is the better NBA player.

Kevin Love isn't even the best PF on his team. Kevin Love is nice player, but in the long run he isn't worth trading OJ Mayo for.

The second best big man on a team averaging 15 and 12.  Worth more then a SG that can average 18 points. 

[Change]

Grizzlies has to luckiest franchise in the league. They got screwed big time by the lakers, but lucky them Marc Gasol who wasn't NBA material then somehow morphed into a legit NBA starting Center. OJ Mayo was gift wrapped by the Timber-Wolves no offense to Kevin Love. Rudy Gay was passed by Toronto Raptors for (Andrea Bargnani), Charlotte Bobcats for (Adam Morrison), Chicago Bulls for (Tyrus Thomas), Atlanta Hawks for (Shelden Williams), and Minnesota Timber-wolves for (Randy Foye). Zach Randolph was supposed to be 'Cancer', and now he is the leader of the team. Maybe it wasn't luck, it was doing of Chris Wallace.  

I would hope no offense to Love.

Love is the better NBA player.

Kevin Love isn't even the best PF on his team. Kevin Love is nice player, but in the long run he isn't worth trading OJ Mayo for.

The second best big man on a team averaging 15 and 12.  Worth more then a SG that can average 18 points. 

This is T-Wolves starting lineup without Love

PG. Flynn
SG. Mayo
SF. Brewer
PF. Al
C. ?

A lot more balance from that lineup than the current one. And yes in the long run, OJ Mayo will have a better career than Kevin Love

[KCattheStripe]

Long term, they are going wherever Michael Heisley permits them to go. The first question is, will they match an offer sheet for Rudy Gay and, in future years, will they spend the money to retain young talent like Mayo and Conley?

If Memphis retains their present players and builds around them ...

Do you think they have the potential to grow into a contender?

Yes, their starting lineup is really good. Maybe not Contender yet, but Memphis's starting lineup outperforms opposing lineups on a daily bases. They need to find a better PG. A PG who takes ownership of the team with so many stars. And their Bench needs a makeover quickly if they want to make the playoffs.

Memphis has a top 5 all around starting 5 talent in the league

1. Celtics
2. Lakers
3. Dallas
4. Orlando
5. Memphis

[wdleehi]

Grizzlies has to luckiest franchise in the league. They got screwed big time by the lakers, but lucky them Marc Gasol who wasn't NBA material then somehow morphed into a legit NBA starting Center. OJ Mayo was gift wrapped by the Timber-Wolves no offense to Kevin Love. Rudy Gay was passed by Toronto Raptors for (Andrea Bargnani), Charlotte Bobcats for (Adam Morrison), Chicago Bulls for (Tyrus Thomas), Atlanta Hawks for (Shelden Williams), and Minnesota Timber-wolves for (Randy Foye). Zach Randolph was supposed to be 'Cancer', and now he is the leader of the team. Maybe it wasn't luck, it was doing of Chris Wallace.  

I would hope no offense to Love.

Love is the better NBA player.

Kevin Love isn't even the best PF on his team. Kevin Love is nice player, but in the long run he isn't worth trading OJ Mayo for.

The second best big man on a team averaging 15 and 12.  Worth more then a SG that can average 18 points. 

This is T-Wolves starting lineup without Love

PG. Flynn
SG. Mayo
SF. Brewer
PF. Al
C. ?

A lot more balance from that lineup than the current one. And yes in the long run, OJ Mayo will have a better career than Kevin Love

Except it is easier to find a starting SG then another starting big man. 

[wdleehi]

Grizzlies has to luckiest franchise in the league. They got screwed big time by the lakers, but lucky them Marc Gasol who wasn't NBA material then somehow morphed into a legit NBA starting Center. OJ Mayo was gift wrapped by the Timber-Wolves no offense to Kevin Love. Rudy Gay was passed by Toronto Raptors for (Andrea Bargnani), Charlotte Bobcats for (Adam Morrison), Chicago Bulls for (Tyrus Thomas), Atlanta Hawks for (Shelden Williams), and Minnesota Timber-wolves for (Randy Foye). Zach Randolph was supposed to be 'Cancer', and now he is the leader of the team. Maybe it wasn't luck, it was doing of Chris Wallace.  

I would hope no offense to Love.

Love is the better NBA player.

Kevin Love isn't even the best PF on his team. Kevin Love is nice player, but in the long run he isn't worth trading OJ Mayo for.

The second best big man on a team averaging 15 and 12.  Worth more then a SG that can average 18 points. 

This is T-Wolves starting lineup without Love

PG. Flynn
SG. Mayo
SF. Brewer
PF. Al
C. ?

A lot more balance from that lineup than the current one. And yes in the long run, OJ Mayo will have a better career than Kevin Love

Except it is easier to find a starting SG then another starting big man. 

Or put it this way, there are only 2 players in the NBA averaging more rebounds the Love.


There are 7 SGs (or 35 players ignoring position) that average more points then Mayo.