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the t-wolves are apparently deeply looking into taking love with the 3rd pick which would most likely make mayo available at 4. i hope this happens because i dont like bayless as a point guard for this team and think o.j. will be great

It certainly would be interesting if Minnesota did take Love, with Rose and Beasley gone before that. You have to wonder how Sam Presti would look at the situation if faced with a choice of Mayo or Bayless.

I'm on record as liking Mayo over Bayless so my opinion is biased. But I see Mayo as having a couple more atributes than Bayless. From what I've read Mayo has impressed by his work ethic and poise at the workouts he's been at(noteably the one in Chicago). That could translate to being NBA ready right off the bat. I also think Mayo is a better defender than Bayless. We witnessed in the NBA finals how much defense means, and Rondo was very good on the defensive end.

To me Bayless seems more of a scorer and not much more. There's nothing wrong with that as we've seen how well Monte Ellis has done in the league, but is that the right type of player for Seattle? If that's the case you may as well trade down to get someone like Ray Felton, who is just as good of a scorer and is still a true pointguard with very good passing, even though he is still learning how to run a team and make the right decisions. Seattle could then draft someone like Brandon Rush and get two solid young players(I'd be thinking about Watson and #4 for Felton and #9).

But anything could happen on draft day. If McHale felt that Love and Jefferson are a good match then with the likes of Foye and McCants already in the backcourt it just might be possible that Mayo is sitting there at #4. But does Presti pick him since Mayo is attempting to go to a big market like LA or New York?

I have to agree with you on bayless something just dont feel right about him.mayo avaliable at 4th pick i dont think presti will pass on mayo.i think seattle wants any of the top three rose,beasley or mayo.everyone on all mocks has them taking bayless and i think presti wants everyone to think that .presti will not show his hand and use this to his advantage.

If I'm Presti I don't pass on OJ Mayo if he's available. And I think he will be. But I'm also convinced Bayless is legit at #4. Either way works. It's the second rookie that's more significant imo. I agree that Rush is the right guy. But no way he lasts until the twenties.

Dj, I see you working yourself into a bit of a letdown on draft day. It is not realistic that Mayo will ever wear a Sonics uniform. There's a few reasons for this:

1. Our FO says we're building a team from guys with good attitudes. Mayo is a self-obsessed repeat of Kobe. One of those guys who has bought into his own hype and really doesn't even see others.

2. McHale is facing the loss of job if he screws up again. Mayo is the definition of sure production (even if it's at the expense of team success, see USC) and if McHale takes another bust over him it will be a surefire way to get fired.

3. I think Riley just takes him at 2 unless he arranges a trade beforehand.

Mayo looked fine to me when he was at USC, and i didn't see any attitude problems with him while he was there. All reports I've been reading saying that he was a great work ethic and theres nothing wrong with his attitude.

Our guards who everyone maligns, have assist to turnover ratios of about 3.0. Bayless is at 1.3 and Mayo is .93. Even for a SG an A/T of less than 1.0 is terrible. These guys have to handle the ball. Mayo is a great shooter but looks for his own shot at the expense of passing the ball to the open teammates. He gets into traffic and turns it over too often. I like Bayless better. Some of his offense comes off of catch and shoot plays coming off screens. He is as quick as any guard in the league. Defense is largely moving your feet. His short arms will not be a factor. Bayless' offense is a function of his quickness also while Mayo relies on converting tough shots.

I never really saw what the fuss was about with wingspan. Remember Kevin Willis? He was incredible in the early part of his career and I think he played for like 16 years and that's as an inside guy. We're talking about a guard here. Sure it helps if you have a freakishly long one and it hurts if you have a freakishly short one but Bayless does not have a freakishly short wingspan (and you wouldn't even mention wingspan if you watched him play).

Take Mayo and auction him off.

BBen wrote:Dj, I see you working yourself into a bit of a letdown on draft day. It is not realistic that Mayo will ever wear a Sonics uniform. There's a few reasons for this:

1. Our FO says we're building a team from guys with good attitudes. Mayo is a self-obsessed repeat of Kobe. One of those guys who has bought into his own hype and really doesn't even see others.

2. McHale is facing the loss of job if he screws up again. Mayo is the definition of sure production (even if it's at the expense of team success, see USC) and if McHale takes another bust over him it will be a surefire way to get fired.

3. I think Riley just takes him at 2 unless he arranges a trade beforehand.

1.) The Mayo attitude issues are a product of a media and his agent. Many people want to hate him. From what I have heard and read from people who know the kid he is a good kid. He is not self-obsessed. If anything his intensity and desire to win would remind you of payton, whom I know you guys love and respect.

2.) No he is not. We are grooming Hoiberg as his replacement due to McHale wanting to retire soon. (age/stress) McHale actually has a decent draft record. His biggest problems as a GM come from signing bad players to MLE contracts. As a drafter he typically makes good picks. Please do not pretend you have knowledge about the Minnesota front office situation.

3.) What we have been told is that if Marion remains with the team (we find out monday) then Mia will likely take Mayo. If Mia takes Mayo then MN looks for a trade down (our front office is torn on beasley. Some love him, others are concerned he does not have the work ethic or maturity to learn a new position) It would be almost impossible for Mia to trade down and take Mayo. Minnesota likely has Mayo first, but is not against trading down for another young starting piece and drafting Love of Gallinari.

Not trying to fight, just wanted to set some things straight.

As for 2, call it what you will, he won't be working in the NBA if he does a bad job in this draft since the MN FO probably works like the rest of the NBA. I have to say though that I have a lot of sympathy for MN fans since the whole Joe Smith fiasco and the fact that you had the best player in the league for years and just couldn't put together a team to go with him.
KG has been among my top three favorite players to watch for almost a decade and it made me happy to see him win a ring finally (especially with Ray Ray).

I just see the FO in MN as being a real hot seat and if positive changes don't keep happening (I do think you got great value for KG) someone will have to pay. Look, tell me all you want about how great Foye is, but he's no Brandon Roy. And you can show me all the tape of Corey Brewer you like but he didn't have a great rookie year. These can be seen as questionable decisions and if he doesn't face loss of job then man, he must be the only GM in the league with some real job security.

Edit: They drafted Joe Smith not Joe Johnson, wrote this late at night.

His performance has nothing to do with his job. That is what I am trying to say. Mchale has a lifetime contract because he covered for the owner in the Joe SMith situation.

What is the Joe Johnson fiasco?

The media is aware that the draft is a group decision, but the inside whisper is that Hoiberg is making the pick. Hoiberg has been working hard, seeing everyone and talking to everyone. It is not Mchale's pick, it is Hoibergs.

We do not need to have a MN justification thread on a seattle board, but a couple points on your final paragraph.
-Foye hardly played his rookie year, we thought Mike James and Ricky Davis could do some magic with KG. Foye came on very, very strong late in the year. That summer he hurt his knee. The knee injury took him out of over half the year. 2/3 even. When he came back he was very rusty, but the last10-15 games he was amazing. Defensively he is too physical for pg's. Offensively his jumper and ability to get in the paint at beautiful. We are very excited to see what he does this year. But as good as ROy is we need an astrix on the discussion til Foye gets a healthy season. Similar to we cannot properly say Durant is better than Odom because he was injuried.

Brewer is a work in progress. Green is a more complete player. I like Green. I like him a lot, there was a reason he was drafted five. I think Brewer has the tools and will be a successful pro. Even right now, from what I have seen from Brewer and the skillset he has, I would not trade him straight up for any of the prospects after him. (I would have to think about Noah) You cannot evaluate a rookie after one year.

BBen wrote:Dj, I see you working yourself into a bit of a letdown on draft day. It is not realistic that Mayo will ever wear a Sonics uniform. There's a few reasons for this:

1. Our FO says we're building a team from guys with good attitudes. Mayo is a self-obsessed repeat of Kobe. One of those guys who has bought into his own hype and really doesn't even see others.

2. McHale is facing the loss of job if he screws up again. Mayo is the definition of sure production (even if it's at the expense of team success, see USC) and if McHale takes another bust over him it will be a surefire way to get fired.

3. I think Riley just takes him at 2 unless he arranges a trade beforehand.

Wow. BBen. There's hardly any point trying to going forward on some of the stuff you wrote. Needless to say I think you're completely wrong on Mayo's attitude & professionalism. There's countless interviews & testimonials from those that closely know him to back that up. McHales' screwed up a ton prior. He's still there. He's not going anywhere based on whether he picks Love, Mayo or Lopez. However, I agree that Miami may just take Mayo if he's their guy. I think Riley would like to leverage the value difference perception others may have between Beasley & Mayo, but making a trade like that is easier said than done.

As far as working myself into a bit of a letdown on draft day... what? Are you kidding me? I'm a lifelong Sonics fan. That's a given!

Yeah exacly DJ! Also I don't get the feeling that Mayo isn't too excited about playing for us and our situation (I don't blame him).

mayo has already said that he would have no problem playing in seattle.

Mayo will play anywhere. His new agent was trying to get him in a big market. Mayo is a good kid.

revprodeji wrote:His performance has nothing to do with his job. That is what I am trying to say. Mchale has a lifetime contract because he covered for the owner in the Joe SMith situation.

What is the Joe Johnson fiasco?

The media is aware that the draft is a group decision, but the inside whisper is that Hoiberg is making the pick. Hoiberg has been working hard, seeing everyone and talking to everyone. It is not Mchale's pick, it is Hoibergs.

We do not need to have a MN justification thread on a seattle board, but a couple points on your final paragraph.
-Foye hardly played his rookie year, we thought Mike James and Ricky Davis could do some magic with KG. Foye came on very, very strong late in the year. That summer he hurt his knee. The knee injury took him out of over half the year. 2/3 even. When he came back he was very rusty, but the last10-15 games he was amazing. Defensively he is too physical for pg's. Offensively his jumper and ability to get in the paint at beautiful. We are very excited to see what he does this year. But as good as ROy is we need an astrix on the discussion til Foye gets a healthy season. Similar to we cannot properly say Durant is better than Odom because he was injuried.

Brewer is a work in progress. Green is a more complete player. I like Green. I like him a lot, there was a reason he was drafted five. I think Brewer has the tools and will be a successful pro. Even right now, from what I have seen from Brewer and the skillset he has, I would not trade him straight up for any of the prospects after him. (I would have to think about Noah) You cannot evaluate a rookie after one year.

Agree with you on Foye. I think your insane on Brewer. Your saying you wouldn't trade Brewer for Stuckey after seeing him in the playoffs. Brewer needs to make major improvements. I would be surprised if he a top 10 player from his draft after watching his rookie year.

Watching Mayo I was not impressed at times. He a good player but I'm not sure he be great. If Minny takes Mayo I think we should take Love. I'm even less convinced that Bayless has a big time future. I would say of the top 5 projected players that Bayless has the most bust potential. All Bayless seems to have going for him is scoring ability. If he can not do that at the NBA level he won't play. Love can rebound, pass, shoot extremely well for a big man. Next to Beasley and Rose Love has the best chance to play consistently. He does so many things well no coach can keep him off the floor.

I would not trade Brewer for Stuckey. My opinion does not matter. My understanding is the wolves would not move Brewer this offseason.