OJ Mayo, UFA

[Jetset]

@CAGrizBlog: Griz issue qualifying offers to Arthur, Speights. Won't issue QO to Mayo or Hudson. CA story coming.

he's almost certain to get more money than we can offer.

[laduane1]

I would say he is way out of Lakers price range. We can offer under 3 mil. or some end of bench type of number. Not even in the ball park.

[Kilroy]

Yeah, he's probably going to be too pricey... But this is a guy who needs a fresh start.

Maybe we could pull a sign/trade with someone like Minni...

[Levity]

id love to see mayo in the purp and gold, but like people are saying, he's gonna be offered a lot more than la can offer him

what do you guys think of hudson. he may not be young, but when he was picked up by cleveland last season, he put up pretty nice scoring numbers on decent efficiency during his two week contract there. he didnt really get any burn with memphis but that was because they are pretty well stocked at the guard position. but ye, hudson would be some nice instant offense off the bench for la (something glock could do, but doesnt get the oppurtunity to prove it) and he could most likely picked up for cheap.

[crazyeights]

Lester Hudson was a fantasy studd for the last few weeks there. Deserves a look by somebody.

[Levity]

Lester Hudson was a fantasy studd for the last few weeks there. Deserves a look by somebody.

haha exactly. i picked him up for that nice stretch in cleveland

[milesfides]

I don't know. Mayo could have a heck of an opportunity if he signed a one-year-deal to start next to Kobe on the Lakers. We saw teams all throughout the playoffs into the Finals play 3 guards in the backcourt.

I don't think Mayo would get above the MLE anyway this season. The Lakers could offer him the tax-paying mini MLE, and let him raise his value, then he could cash in next season.

He would be a difference maker, the guy can space the floor, something that our guards couldn't do this year.

[Jetset]

I don't think Mayo would get above the MLE anyway this season. The Lakers could offer him the tax-paying mini MLE, and let him raise his value, then he could cash in next season.

If he accepted an MMLE deal with us he'd be locked into it for two years, so he wouldn't be able to cash in next season. And I'm all but certain that some team out of the 30 teams in the league will offer him an MLE deal, even though he hasn't earned that type deal so far in his career. It'll be just on potential alone.

[miggs]

I've always liked Mayo and just felt he needed the opportunity to make his mistakes and grow. I even felt he was the guy we should start next to Kobe to gracefully end his career. I really thought this kid could be groomed to be a star here. Kobe really liked him too coming out of college.

It'd be awesome to pick him up but I doubt he'd sign for mini-MLE. I look for him to easily get a $5-7m deal somewhere but we'll see. Would be a great addition, nice little scoring punch good size too.

[milesfides]

If he accepted an MMLE deal with us he'd be locked into it for two years, so he wouldn't be able to cash in next season.

Hm, you sure about that? The Celtics used their MMLE on Chris Wilcox, one year deal.

[milesfides]

Yeah, we'll see...I don't think he'll get offers more than the MLE, and if he thinks he's worth more than that, i.e., he felt Memphis wasn't using him right, I think taking a short term deal to raise his value and showcase his game isn't outside of the realm of possibility. It's actually pretty common, Jamal Crawford signed below his market value for a one-year deal with the Blazers. Shannon Brown did it last year with the Suns. JR Smith did it with the Knicks, Kenyon Martin with the Clips, etc.

[Cares]

Let's get Steve Nash too!

[Jetset]

If he accepted an MMLE deal with us he'd be locked into it for two years, so he wouldn't be able to cash in next season.

Hm, you sure about that? The Celtics used their MMLE on Chris Wilcox, one year deal.

The owners had proposed banning any tax team from using the full mid-level and instead allowing it to use a “mini” mid-level worth $3 million per year over three seasons.

Nevermind, I guess you can. We only locked in McRoberts for two years with the MMLE which is why I thought it was only a two year thing.

Yeah, we'll see...I don't think he'll get offers more than the MLE, and if he thinks he's worth more than that, i.e., he felt Memphis wasn't using him right, I think taking a short term deal to raise his value and showcase his game isn't outside of the realm of possibility. It's actually pretty common, Jamal Crawford signed below his market value for a one-year deal with the Blazers. Shannon Brown did it last year with the Suns. JR Smith did it with the Knicks, Kenyon Martin with the Clips, etc.

I don't see him getting an offer higher than the MLE, but I certainly see a couple MLE offers coming his way Sunday. If he signed with us for $3 mil it's just because he wants to be a Laker. But OJ's young and I'm sure he cares more about financial means rather than about loyalty.

[milesfides]

^Well, maybe, but if I'm OJ Mayo and still believe in my own hype, I don't think I'm an MLE player. I think I'm going to be double that - heck, a max player. So why lock myself in a multiyear average deal? I don't think I'm an average player, and Memphis didn't use me right, and they obviously don't value me that much, so I'm going to prove to the world what I can do, then get paid.

Maybe Mayo does jump at the chance to make a few more millions, but if I were a betting man, I'm thinking he wants to make tens of millions. Starting for L.A., where he'd have the fans behind him, playing into the playoffs, then getting respect and getting paid.

I don't know, I'm just speculating here, you guys might very well be right, but if I'm OJ Mayo, I believe I'm worth a lot more than what I'll be getting this summer.

[Levity]

just curious, but could la use their tpe in a sign and trade for mayo? im not sure how all the numbers work, but offer him a 1 year deal with the exception, and next season if he pans out, we'll have more cap space to offer him a long term deal. as long as we get rid of some of the detrimental contracts before next offseason (artest? gasol?)

and if thats possible, and actually works, then la can send pau out to shed salary, plus get legit pieces to fill our rosters holes. ie: iggy for pau.

back court
iggy, mayo, kobe. put each in their respective positions, and allow iggy / kobe to initiate the offense.
mayo would be a great spot up shooter/ offense, while also bringing pretty good defense. iggy is a great defender, passer, everything type player, and kobe is kobe. i think these 3 players strengths and weaknesses combined really benefit eachother

[LocLaker]

He did go to usc and always said he wanted to be a laker when he was younger.

I would give this kid a chance. He could seem to need a fresh start with another team.

[sjpump]

He is the exact type of player were I wish they would accept less money to go to a better situation for him basketball wise. A fresh start on a new team ie Lakers would give him a chance to really show people how he can excel running pick and roll when given the opportunity. Would be a great 6th man for us. But this is def long shot.

[hoops_32]

Mayo would give us a great 6th man off the bench and could close out games. It's very unlikely but if he takes the mini MLE now for two years he would get a long term deal later as we don't have any players under contract in 2014/15 and would have cap space to offer him a big contract. He is only 24 years old now and when Kobe retires he would be entering his prime.

[milesfides]

First of all, Mayo is not that good. So let's not get too excited. So far, he's shown that he can be a borderline starter. His production has been average over 4 years.

He's a small shooting guard. He's been trying to gain more ball handling skills every summer, except none of that's translated into the games. He's not great at finishing at the basket.

The positives? He's been a decent shooter, and he's a pretty good defender. I see him somewhere on the level of Aaron Afflalo, but with the potential to guard combo guards rather than swingmen.

He can become a quality role player, but there's a reason why Memphis is letting him go...if some team does break the bank to sign him, I'd be very surprised. 4 years is a pretty good chunk of time to evaluate a guard.

[Jajwanda]

He's perfect in that he's a good shooter/defender that can eventually run with Sessions. From the way Mitch was describing high potential finds in FA I think he's talking about Mayo and Beasley, young guys that can be brought in and eventually take over with Bynum.