Is an OJ Mayo trade realistic?

[kyrv]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uhaHl9re_0&hd=1

The above video should show you, his skills do translate to the NBA and he's very much a capable defender. And he's an excellent run down blocker. I know it's a video though and anyone can look good in those. At the same time, he has legit moves and he's a legit scorer.

The video is called 'the next one' and makes me wonder, what happened to him, after a fairly promising start?

Do you think, because of his skill set, he gets in a good system with a good team, he'll be much more likely to flourish?

[nitetrain8603]

Lack of direction in my opinion.

[CjayC]

We see it in Memphis with Gay/Randolph.. Why do people think once he comes too the Bulls he will be happy and play a larger role? All we really need from him is defense at the 2 and knocking down spot up jumpers from time to time.. Thats it.. You really think O.J Mayo will settle for something like that on this team when he feels he's much better? I don't.. Him coming out to the media saying he's not happy says alot about a players mentality.. And trust me his role wouldn't be much bigger here than it is with Memphis..

I'd like Mayo, and want him here if we don't have to give up too much.

I don't see anything necessarily wrong with having someone else that can create their own offense next to Rose, off the dribble. Sure having somebody that can knock down 3's and not be a sieve on defense is all we need, but looking up and down the roster the James Johnson might be the next best player after Rose at creating their own offense on this team(Noah can do his thing at times as well, but by no means should we be dependent on Joakim for major offensive production even though he's shown that he is capable of isoing on his own at times). It would be nice to have someone else that could shoulder that responsibility. Not necessarily saying that the answer is Mayo, though I'd like to see him play here.

I think it would be a good thing to have another player here that doesn't need to be spoon fed all of their scoring attempts. Right now its just Derrick himself running around like a mad man getting dudes in a position to score. If we can get the 3 point shooter and solid defender at the 2, great, but if we can get that in addition to someone who can take more offensive load off of him even better.

[Benedict Miller]

If Mayo went to a winning team like Chicago, I wouldn't doubt he'd change into a new player, defending and knocking down big shots playing right next to Rose. I just question his mental toughness, hopefully he gets himself together if we were to get him, it would be awesome having him if he changes his mental approach to the game.

[Tetlak]

I hear Memphis isnt happy with Acie Law at backup point (even though he has a 16 PER).

After Dec 15

Watson + Thomas (expiring) + Charlotte pick for Mayo + Law

Get Mayo who can run the backup point and give us what we need at the 2. If OJ doesnt work out at backup pg then we can use Law. I only do this trade if we cant get Melo though. I dont really think Mayo is worth anything more than this. Even the Charlotte pick is iffy.

[logical_art]

OJ Mayo has a standing reach only 0.5 inches higher than Ben Gordon's. Defensively, he's not the two we need.

[DuckIII]

You're gonna have to atleast give up Taj to get him.

I wouldn't entertain, for even a moment, trading Taj Gibson for OJ Mayo. Let alone "at least" Taj Gibson.

What more do we need to see to prove how valuable Taj is to the Bulls?

The Bulls are 8-5 against a brutal schedule, and the losses were highly competitive. If we had OJ Mayo instead of Taj, my guess is our record would be 5-8.

The key for the Bulls is bigs. Shooting guard is, by a wide margin, the least important position for this team.

[Tommy Udo 6]

You're gonna have to atleast give up Taj to get him.

I wouldn't entertain, for even a moment, trading Taj Gibson for OJ Mayo. Let alone "at least" Taj Gibson.

What more do we need to see to prove how valuable Taj is to the Bulls?

The Bulls are 8-5 against a brutal schedule, and the losses were highly competitive. If we had OJ Mayo instead of Taj, my guess is our record would be 5-8.

The key for the Bulls is bigs. Shooting guard is, by a wide margin, the least important position for this team.

+ 1

[logical_art]

You're gonna have to atleast give up Taj to get him.

I wouldn't entertain, for even a moment, trading Taj Gibson for OJ Mayo. Let alone "at least" Taj Gibson.

What more do we need to see to prove how valuable Taj is to the Bulls?

The Bulls are 8-5 against a brutal schedule, and the losses were highly competitive. If we had OJ Mayo instead of Taj, my guess is our record would be 5-8.

The key for the Bulls is bigs. Shooting guard is, by a wide margin, the least important position for this team.

Why is shooting guard less important for this team than SF?

[barnett114]

Why is shooting guard less important for this team than SF?

Because we have Deng.

[coldfish]

You're gonna have to atleast give up Taj to get him.

I wouldn't entertain, for even a moment, trading Taj Gibson for OJ Mayo. Let alone "at least" Taj Gibson.

What more do we need to see to prove how valuable Taj is to the Bulls?

The Bulls are 8-5 against a brutal schedule, and the losses were highly competitive. If we had OJ Mayo instead of Taj, my guess is our record would be 5-8.

The key for the Bulls is bigs. Shooting guard is, by a wide margin, the least important position for this team.

+1

I'll take it further. Taj Gibson is a much much much better player than mayo. He is a good defender and offensive player. Add in that he plays a more valuable position AND is on a cheap rookie deal for longer, the trade value difference is astronomical. A fair trade would be mayo plus a top three protected first for Gibson. Not the other way around.

I doubt there are many real gm's who would take mayo over Gibson at this point.

Regardless, I would take mayo, but his asking price is going to be far more than his on court value. The bulls can get similar production at far less cost from other guys like thorton.

[Tetlak]

Why is shooting guard less important for this team than SF?

Because we have Deng.

Why couldnt there be a chance that Mayo would be the 3rd option over Deng, allowing him to focus on defense and rebounding?

[DuckIII]

Why is shooting guard less important for this team than SF?

We already have a really good small forward. Moreover, small forward is a frontcourt position, and the frontcourt is the key for the Bulls to contend.

Rose gets you everything you need in your backcourt. All you need next to him is a defender that can hit an open shot.

I'm all for getting OJ Mayo or any other upgrade at the 2. But you absolutely cannot do that at the expense of a major frontcourt piece. And that is what Taj is.

[barnett114]

People still want Mayo. The man is garbage. A product of hype.

[logical_art]

Why is shooting guard less important for this team than SF?

Because we have Deng.

Wouldn't that make SF less important, seeing as Deng is 100x better than Bogans?

I think what Duck was saying though is that in the Bulls system, SG is less important than SF.

[DuckIII]

I'll take it further. Taj Gibson is a much much much better player than mayo.

Absolutely.

[logical_art]

Why is shooting guard less important for this team than SF?

We already have a really good small forward. Moreover, small forward is a frontcourt position, and the frontcourt is the key for the Bulls to contend.

Rose gets you everything you need in your backcourt. All you need next to him is a defender that can hit an open shot.

I'm all for getting OJ Mayo or any other upgrade at the 2. But you absolutely cannot do that at the expense of a major frontcourt piece. And that is what Taj is.

I think you could just as well put a shooter/defender SF next to Rose and put a better player at SG.

I also think having a second player capable of handling the ball a little and creating something would be very helpful. Deng's obviously not that player so it has to come from the SG spot.

I think Mayo would be a very good fit next to Rose offensively. Defensively, not so much.

Nevertheless, I do agree that we shouldn't give up Taj. Front court depth is huge in the playoffs.

[DuckIII]

I think what Duck was saying though is that in the Bulls system, SG is less important than SF.

Right. With "system" basically meaning Derrick Rose. Even before he was drafted, I wrote that the Bulls winning the lottery meant the end of Ben Gordon in Chicago. My exact words were "Derrick Rose will make shooting guard the least important position on the court for Chicago."

And that is especially true now with how important our interior play is to what Thibs is trying to accomplish.

We do need a shooting guard upgrade. But, really, its not nearly as big of a deal as its made out to be around here. In fact, I still hold out hope that Brewer is going to be a sufficient solution there.

[dmk08]

Why is shooting guard less important for this team than SF?

We already have a really good small forward. Moreover, small forward is a frontcourt position, and the frontcourt is the key for the Bulls to contend.

Rose gets you everything you need in your backcourt. All you need next to him is a defender that can hit an open shot.

I'm all for getting OJ Mayo or any other upgrade at the 2. But you absolutely cannot do that at the expense of a major frontcourt piece. And that is what Taj is.

I think you could just as well put a shooter/defender SF next to Rose and put a better player at SG.

I also think having a second player capable of handling the ball a little and creating something would be very helpful.

The chances of finding a SG that is on the market right now that we can obtain without killing our team and better than Deng are not very good. Giving up Taj for a "OKAY" SG isn't a great idea.

[DuckIII]

I also think having a second player capable of handling the ball a little and creating something would be very helpful.

I agree it would be helpful. But its an amount of help a damn sight short of the help that Taj provides.

This summer I shot down every single trade idea involving moving Taj for one of many different scrub, role playing shooting guards. I thought it was ridiculous, but somewhat understandable.

But now there's just no excuse for that kind of talk. Taj is critically important to the Bulls for lots of reasons. You only move him for an impact 2-guard or a Melo package or something.