Thursday, June 26, 2008

Breaking News: O.J. Mayo to Memphis

Just came across ESPN.

Memphis gets:

O.J. Mayo
Marko Jaric
Antoine Walker
Greg Buckner

Minnesota gets:

Kevin Love
Mike Miller
Brian Cardinal
Jason Collins

Nothing confirmed, but we will keep you updated.

This could be a precursor to a second move that nets Michael Beasley. Perhaps Mayo/Warrick for Beasley/Banks?

Also, I would expect that if this deal goes through that Walker is bought out, as might Buckner, given that neither of their contracts are guaranteed beyond the 2008/09 season according to ESPN, although Buckner's perimeter defense could be very useful.

Update: According to the Commercial Appeal's Ron Tillery, the draft rights to Donte Greene have been sent to Portland for the draft rights to Darrell Arthur. This will help fill that hole at PF. According to Chris Vernon, Arthur was ranked at #11 on the Grizzlies' draft board.

As of right now, the Mayo trade is simply pending league approval, which means that it should be a done deal.

Update 2: Chris Herrington is reporting that a 2nd deal is being finalized that doesn't involve Michael Beasley. No other details at this point.

Update 3: Herrington now says that he misunderstood and that there isn't a 2nd deal. Good night everyone!

Chip's Take: Chad Ford said that Minnesota wins the trade in the short run but in a few years you may look back and say that it was a no-brainer for Memphis.

I have to agree with that if we can keep Mayo happy here. O.J. is the type of player Memphis has always desired. He is a big name player who won't choke under pressure. Combine that with Arthur and Gasol and you have dramatically increased the talent at three positions. If Antoine Walker decides to take advantage of his opportunity and play like he is capable of playing then he could be a real steal in this trade as well. Memphis may also be moving Mayo to go for Beasley which should be very interesting if true. Remember that Miami wanted Rudy Gay before plus the #5 pick so don't get your hopes up too high that Beasley will be here when you wake up in the morning.

Jaric is not a big help but he should be able to help mature the young guns in the backcourt. Bucker brings defensive perimeter help and could be the closest thing Memphis has to a shut down defender. The big question mark is how well the veterans act. If Jaric and Buckner don't provide leadership this team could implode with the egos in the locker room. If they take a roll in being leaders then it could be a great deal. The team won't make the playoffs this season and maybe not next year but the team has made a bold statement that they are wanting to be players again.

If Antoine Walker is bought out then that should ease some of my concerns about team chemistry too. By the way, I think this proves that Heisley was telling the truth when he said there was no reason to believe he wouldn't spend money to improve the team. A buyout of Walker's contract won't come cheaply but it is probably the smart move.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

this seems like a dumb trade for both sides

Anonymous said...

YESSSS!!! We actually got OJ Mayo. Oh man this is awesome. This is what we needed to do- get a star. Plus we got Darrell Arthur, who can also be a star if his health checks out. Man what a draft for the Griz. All we give up is Mike Miller, though I am gonna miss him a whole lot. Great trade and great draft for the Grizzlies. Nice job Chris Wallace, I didn't know you had the nads or that Heisley would allow any kind of trade like this. Awesome, though. We now have a lineup of Mike Conley, OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Darrell Arthur, and Marc Gasol, with Kyle Lowry, Javaris, Hak, and Darko coming off the bench. AWESOME!!

Anonymous said...

I really, really like the Mayo pick-up for the Grizzlies.

They'll be great to watch next year. While they lose, unfortunately.

Anonymous said...

Im really struggling to come up with with any kind articulation other than CHRIS WALLACE IS A FUCKING MORON. I DONT CARE IF THIS IS A SALARY DUMP. YOU JUST GAVE UP YOUR BEST SHOOTER AND REBOUNDER. YOU GAVE UP THE DRAFT PICK WITH ABILITY TO REBOUND AND SCORE DOWN LOW. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE TEAM WAS MISSING.

Anonymous said...

The Jaric-Lima pairing should at least drive up ticket sales...