Is an OJ Mayo trade realistic?

[MGB8]

Mayo's not garbage. He is a strong ball handling, solid shooting, decent jumping slightly undersized SG.

Even though he tested well at the combine, he doesn't seem to be as athletic as those tests showed on the court (similar to Ben Gordon in a way). He also doesn't have a particularly good first step - he's not a slasher.

But he would be a creator with legitimate 3 pt range next to Rose, and chances are that he could be developed into a much better defender than Bogans is now (because Bogans is too slow) or Korver, for that matter. Playing on bad defensive teams (as opposed to San Antonio, Utah and the old Philly teams) tends to hurt individual players defense numbers because of no help.

The question would be how much would it be worth to give up to get him, and also money issues.

[logical_art]

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.

I'm totally onboard with not trading Taj.

I think the Bulls should trade some combination of their pick, Charlotte's pick and anyone not name Rose, Boozer, Noah, Taj, Deng, Asik and Korver for the best two they can get. Just getting a solid, not spectacular two would really strengthen our chances of winning it all, IMO.

[barnett114]

Mayo's not garbage. He is a strong ball handling, solid shooting, decent jumping slightly undersized SG.

His ball handling is terrible and an undersized shooting guard is not what the Bulls need. If they wanted an undersized shooting guard they would have kept BG.

[logical_art]

Mayo's not garbage. He is a strong ball handling, solid shooting, decent jumping slightly undersized SG.

His ball handling is terrible and an undersized shooting guard is not what the Bulls need. If they wanted an undersized shooting guard they would have kept BG.

I disagree. I think offensively, Mayo is basically perfect for us. Defensively on the other hand, not so much.

[DuckIII]

I think the Bulls should trade some combination of their pick, Charlotte's pick and anyone not name Rose, Boozer, Noah, Taj, Deng, Asik and Korver for the best two they can get. Just getting a solid, not spectacular two would really strengthen our chances of winning it all, IMO.

That's pretty much my opinion as well. I'd be willing to move Asik though. But I admit he's a lot more useful than I thought he'd be.

[logical_art]

Mayo's not garbage. He is a strong ball handling, solid shooting, decent jumping slightly undersized SG.

Even though he tested well at the combine, he doesn't seem to be as athletic as those tests showed on the court (similar to Ben Gordon in a way). He also doesn't have a particularly good first step - he's not a slasher.

But he would be a creator with legitimate 3 pt range next to Rose, and chances are that he could be developed into a much better defender than Bogans is now (because Bogans is too slow) or Korver, for that matter. Playing on bad defensive teams (as opposed to San Antonio, Utah and the old Philly teams) tends to hurt individual players defense numbers because of no help.

The question would be how much would it be worth to give up to get him, and also money issues.

He's basically got the same standing reach as Ben Gordon. System is not the problem for him defensively.

[MGB8]

Mayo's not garbage. He is a strong ball handling, solid shooting, decent jumping slightly undersized SG.

Even though he tested well at the combine, he doesn't seem to be as athletic as those tests showed on the court (similar to Ben Gordon in a way). He also doesn't have a particularly good first step - he's not a slasher.

But he would be a creator with legitimate 3 pt range next to Rose, and chances are that he could be developed into a much better defender than Bogans is now (because Bogans is too slow) or Korver, for that matter. Playing on bad defensive teams (as opposed to San Antonio, Utah and the old Philly teams) tends to hurt individual players defense numbers because of no help.

The question would be how much would it be worth to give up to get him, and also money issues.

He's basically got the same standing reach as Ben Gordon. System is not the problem for him defensively.

He's taller, though, and that does make a difference. Gordon has freaky arms. But it's not system - it's help. NO ONE on the griz is a good defender. Forget system. It's not like he has Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen or George Lynch and Eric Snow playing with him.

[barnett114]

Mayo's not garbage. He is a strong ball handling, solid shooting, decent jumping slightly undersized SG.

Even though he tested well at the combine, he doesn't seem to be as athletic as those tests showed on the court (similar to Ben Gordon in a way). He also doesn't have a particularly good first step - he's not a slasher.

But he would be a creator with legitimate 3 pt range next to Rose, and chances are that he could be developed into a much better defender than Bogans is now (because Bogans is too slow) or Korver, for that matter. Playing on bad defensive teams (as opposed to San Antonio, Utah and the old Philly teams) tends to hurt individual players defense numbers because of no help.

The question would be how much would it be worth to give up to get him, and also money issues.

He's basically got the same standing reach as Ben Gordon. System is not the problem for him defensively.

He's taller, though,

Barely

[logical_art]

He's basically got the same standing reach as Ben Gordon. System is not the problem for him defensively.

He's taller, though, and that does make a difference. Gordon has freaky arms. But it's not system - it's help. NO ONE on the griz is a good defender. Forget system. It's not like he has Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen or George Lynch and Eric Snow playing with him.

Why is height more important than standing reach defensively?

[MGB8]

He's basically got the same standing reach as Ben Gordon. System is not the problem for him defensively.

He's taller, though, and that does make a difference. Gordon has freaky arms. But it's not system - it's help. NO ONE on the griz is a good defender. Forget system. It's not like he has Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen or George Lynch and Eric Snow playing with him.

Why is height more important than standing reach defensively?

I didn't say "more." Both have impact. But Gordon's standing reach, which is comparable to guys several inches taller (and further than Hinrich's, for example) still didn't make a difference when guys like Joe Johnson would just shoot over him undisturbed. Taller helps you interfere with a person's comfort releasing the ball when they are in front of you.

[SimonFish]

Yeah Mayo's defense and height probably doesn't make him the solution of our starting SG.

He's best suited to be our 6th man though.

[logical_art]

How did Mayo become so hyped in HS? I mean, he was supposed to be a smaller LeBron but when you watch him play that comparison is unfathomable. Nothing about him is spectacular.

[anorexorcism]

The friendship with Rose could be useful here. It's really up to Derrick. If he thinks a guy like OJ can help, and he talks to management about the team's needs and suggests his buddy is the missing piece, then the Bulls can take the initiative and start talks thanks to the push by their superstar player.

[Benedict Miller]

damn I just checked out Mayo's numbers, I take whatever I said back...he's too talened for that, it's either he lost his confidence, or he's just flat out asking for a trade with his play.

[Polynice4Pippen]

How did Mayo become so hyped in HS? I mean, he was supposed to be a smaller LeBron but when you watch him play that comparison is unfathomable. Nothing about him is spectacular.

Mayo just developed quickly. He was a 20+ ppg scorer who nearly led his high school team to a state title in Kentucky as an 8th grader. And with all the LeBron hype at the time, Mayo became the next high school phenom.

[DRose4MVP]

How did Mayo become so hyped in HS? I mean, he was supposed to be a smaller LeBron but when you watch him play that comparison is unfathomable. Nothing about him is spectacular.

Mayo just developed quickly. He was a 20+ ppg scorer who nearly led his high school team to a state title in Kentucky as an 8th grader. And with all the LeBron hype at the time, Mayo became the next high school phenom.

Yup, Rose Hill Christian in Kentucky. I still have a ESPN Documentary that they were doing on him at the time on VHS. It has highlights of him on there.

He commuted long-distance - for grade school. He starred immediately on his Kentucky high school team (Rose Hill Christian) - averaging 23.1 points per game as that 7th grader who could already dunk.

"7th-8th grade basketball was boring. We were winning (every game) by 30 points and people were complaining that I was too old. I just happened to be in the state of Kentucky where middle schoolers can play varsity. So I started off on JV for a scrimmage and I guess I did pretty well. Then I played a little varsity and did well again, so I just got an opportunity and took advantage of it."

[nitetrain8603]

He's taller, though, and that does make a difference. Gordon has freaky arms. But it's not system - it's help. NO ONE on the griz is a good defender. Forget system. It's not like he has Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen or George Lynch and Eric Snow playing with him.

Why is height more important than standing reach defensively?

I didn't say "more." Both have impact. But Gordon's standing reach, which is comparable to guys several inches taller (and further than Hinrich's, for example) still didn't make a difference when guys like Joe Johnson would just shoot over him undisturbed. Taller helps you interfere with a person's comfort releasing the ball when they are in front of you.

Except Joe Johnson didn't shoot undisturbed against him. That's a whole nother story.

Things OJ is not:
Athletic Freak
Superduperstar
Cancer
All NBA first team
All NBA Defensive first team
MVP
Allstar
Garbage

Things OJ is:
Extremely useful SG when used properly who has great potential still
Athletic
A good ballhandler who so far has shown he can create for himself on this level
A better player than any SG the Bulls currently have including Ron Brewer
A good secondary option to handle the ball in the backcourt
A good match to grow with Rose
Someone who needs a change of scenery
A decent defensive player who can still use coaching in that area

It seems like everyone wants to speak in extremes with OJ. OH HELL NO, I WOULDNT TRADE ASIK OR CJ WATSON FOR HIM. 2nd ROUNDER OR BUST. Quite simply, you can't speak in extremes with him because he's unknown. I mean, we have seen what he can do his rookie season, and then we also have seen what he's done so far this year.

I would trade Gibson, Asik, Bobcats first round pick(there are nooooo good SG's coming out), Watson and Deng. Not all together, but a combination of 2/3 of those or so. I would like to see what happens with Melo first, though I don't think we have any shot of landing him. Once it's confirmed what his intentions are, I hope GarPax would turn their attention to OJ.

Last, but not least, let's not say he would cost a ton. People thought Pau Gasol would cost a ton and he didn't.

[nitetrain8603]

How he got hyped:
-In the 7th grade. Mayo went on to average 23 points per game his first year on the varsity team playing against older, bigger, and more experienced competition.

-In the 9th grade OJ regularly arrive at the gym by 6 a.m. to shoot 500 jumpers.

-Mayo, Walker, and their teammates would often stay until 10 or 11 at night to work on their games or workout.

-Mayo had already been written about in major sports magazines such as ESPN, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, and Slam. Mayo was being called "The Next One"

-In his first year as a true freshmen, at North College Hill, Mayo went on to average 31 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals a game and was selected as First Team All State.

-North College Hill, Ohios No. 1-ranked Division III team, finish the regular season 20-0.Mayo was named Ohio Division III Player of the Year.

-OJ was also named Mr. Basketball of Ohio.

-In his junior year, Mayo averaged 29 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals a game and was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Ohio for the second year in a row.

-Class AAA state championship and won many awards including the National High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year by EA Sports.

-In his firs nba seson On pace to break Shareef Abdur-Rahims Grizzlie rookie record for points per game.

-Scored in double figures in each of his first 25 professional games, the longest streak to start an NBA career since David Robinson (77-straight)

-NBA Rookie of the Month Award for October/November after averaging 21.9 points in the month

-Scored 210 points in his first 10 career games. Only two active NBA players scored higher - Shaquille ONeal (238) and Allen Iverson (224)

[nitetrain8603]

I also want to say, OJ Mayo is like Dwyane Wade in that he is moreso crafty than athletic. He can jump run, block and do all that stuff. But offensively, he doesn't depend on burst. He depends on IQ and moves. He sets up his jumped with a jab step nicely. When you think he's going to shoot it, he's able to dribble around you, and get to the basket.

[Shill]

LOL nitetrain coming unglued a bit with his O.J. Mayo fanaticism. I see you!