CBS: Some execs believe Courtney Lee-for-OJ Mayo would make sense

Danny Granger for Kevin Martin

lowry
mayo
granger
scola
????

:grin:

 

Blockbuster:

Houston Receives: Carmelo, Billups, NeNe

Denver Receives: OJ Mayo, TWill, Jordan Hill, Thabeet + expiring Battier, Yao

Memphis Receives: Aaron Brooks, Courtney Lee + Jared Jeffries expiring



Houston:
PG: Billups | Lowry | Smith
SG: Martin | Budinger
SF: Melo | Budinger
PF: Scola | PPat
C: NeNe | Hayes | BMiller

 

THIS IS A TOTAL NO BRAINER.

O.J. Mayo's miserable season got a lot worse last month, when it was announced that he's been suspended for 10 games by the NBA for testing positive for the legal but banned-by-the-NBA steroid-like drug DHEA. This will cost Mayo more than $400,000 and cost the Grizzlies their fourth-leading scorer during a crucial stretch of games in which they're trying to catch the Portland Trailblazers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Will O.J. Mayo play a game in a Rockets uniform? If the Rockets is smart, the answer is yes.

A Bad Year
But this is only the latest and worst incident in what has been a bit of a nightmare season for the third-year guard, preceded by the following:

• The Grizzles spent their top draft pick (Xavier Henry) and primary free-agent acquisition (Tony Allen) on players at Mayo's position.

• Mayo's attempt to develop his on-ball skills in the summer league resulted in a turnover-heavy performance aborted after two games and dismissive public comments from a head coach who has bristled at even the mildest criticisms of Mayo's backcourt partner, Mike Conley.

• Mayo failed to make the US national team only to watch teammate Rudy Gay and two-guard rival Eric Gordon not only make the team but shine at the World Basketball Championships.

• While Gordon and Gay followed up their international play with career-best seasons, Mayo was moved into a sixth-man role and has registered career lows pretty much across the board.

• Mayo caught the bad end of a fistfight with teammate Tony Allen following a gambling dispute on the team plane. Mayo missed the next game with a black eye labeled "bronchitis" while Allen shined in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, drawing public praise from his coach and teammates.

The Rockets needs to make Mayo the center of their offense

Rockets need Mayo getting up more shots, not wasting away on the bench.

One could certainly argue that it made some tactical sense to move Mayo into the sixth-man role for this team. The Rockets had plenty of scoring in their starting lineup and not much on the bench, so moving Mayo to the bench and replacing him in the starting line-up with a bigger role player (Terrence Williams) was a way to achieve better offense balance throughout the rotations.

Given the way Mayo has struggled with bigger, sweet-shooting two guards (notably: Kevin Martin and Jason Richardson), you could certainly point to this change as one of the reasons the Grizzlies have improved from 23rd in defensive efficiency last season to 13th this season. But Mayo has not thrived in the role, and the resultant lack of outside scoring punch is a big reason the team's offensive efficiency has declined from 17th to 21st. The Grizzlies were really good last season with their starting lineup. The bench killed them.

But even more than those short-term considerations, moving Mayo to the bench was always a curious move in terms of the end game. Mayo isn't a veteran who has had his run as a starter. The Grizzlies aren't a proven veteran team with a proven head coach. And Mayo is not on a long-term contract. While putting Mayo in that role may or may not make sense for right now, it certainly seems to set the stage for his eventual departure. It is very difficult to see Mayo, at this stage of his career, wanting to re-up with the Grizzlies to keep coming off the bench.

If the team had any designs on making O.J. Mayo part of the long-term core — and owner Michael Heisley has long insisted he has — then moving him to the bench was a shortsighted decision.

Mayo on the Block? If so, Morey needs to swoop in
Moving Mayo to the bench immediately put his name in the middle of trade rumors, and while the team has publicly downplayed the notion of dealing Mayo, behind the scenes chatter suggests that jettisoning Mayo ahead of February's trade deadline, while not an inevitability, is very much on the table.

How does this latest incident impact the likelihood of dealing Mayo? ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweeted yesterday that the suspension won't stop Mayo from being dealt but suggested that the team's desire to get good return for Mayo might be an issue.

But is trading Mayo right now a good idea? I'd argue no, for three primary reasons:

Three Reasons the Rockets needs to go all-in for Mayo (right now):

1. Backcourt Scoring is Essential: With Mayo's minutes and production in decline, the Grizzlies' leading backcourt scorer this season has been Mike Conley at 13.2 points per game. Only five other NBA teams this season have a leading backcourt scorer averaging fewer than 15 points per game and only one of these has a winning record: The Orlando Magic, for whom Jason Richardson is leading the way at 14.3. The Magic are a special case in a lot of ways. Prior to their trade a few weeks ago, they had Vince Carter in the backcourt at (slightly) over the 15 threshold, and currently split their backcourt scoring among myriad good options (also: Jameer Nelson, Gilbert Arenas, J.J. Reddick) all surrounding the league's best true center.

The other teams getting fewer than 15 a game from their top backcourt scorer aren't fortunate enough to have Dwight Howard in the middle: The Cleveland Cavaliers (8-37), the Indiana Pacers (16-26), the Philadelphia 76ers (20-25), and the Minnesota Timberwolves (10-35). Only the Timberwolves, where point guard Luke Ridnour leads the way at 11.8, has a top backcourt scorer averaging fewer points per game than Conley's 13.2.

It's really hard to be a good NBA team without a significant scoring threat in the backcourt. And while Mayo, for a variety of reasons, hasn't been that this season, we know that he can be. Mayo averaged 18.5 points per game as a rookie and 17.5 in his second season. He had eight games of 30 or more points in his first two seasons, or exactly as many as the entire team has had this season (four from Rudy Gay, four from Zach Randolph).

2. His Value is at an All-Time Low: Not long ago, Mayo's profile was that of a number three overall pick in a good draft, a Rookie of the Year runner-up, a proven high-level shooter/scorer, and a prospective all-star caliber player with undeveloped on-the-ball potential. Dealing him now would be trading him as an inconsistent, 12-points-a-game shooting specialist off the bench who followed up a fistfight with a teammate with a 10-game drug suspension.

Mayo is more talented than all of our roster plus the entire Bobcats roster put together.

Blow this team up and go for 2012/

 

Or Martin for Iggy + Spencer Hawes

Lowry
Mayo
Iggy
Scola
Hawes

Kinda kills 2 birds in one stone and the starting 5 has received a sudden injection of solid defense.

 

YEP!!

Otherwise its a lateral move.....IT IS WRITTEN.

 

I LIKE ALOT .........THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I MENT EARLIER^^^^^

 

this is r****ded

 

I would say no to this and here's why. Mayo, while averaging more points than Lee, takes more shots and plays 10 more minutes a game; however, his shooting percentage is MUCH lower in both FG% and 3-point percentage. Mayo is currently shooting the 3 ball at 36% which isn’t much better than former Rockets player Rafer Alston, and we all know how much people hated seeing him jack up shots. His FG% is a little better at 40% but that’s not great either. Lee, on the other hand, is much more efficient with a 44% FG and a smoking 42% from 3-ball land. That’s good for the top 3-point shooter on the Rockets roster and a top 15 in the NBA. Mayo ranks #71 in 3-point %, BTW.

Seriously, why we would trade away one of the most efficient 3-point shooters in the NBA for a smallish backup SG that doesn’t shoot the ball very well? Also, not most players need a lot of consistent minutes to play efficient but apparently that's not the case for Lee. Then again, Carl Landry was one of the most efficient scorers on the team and we traded him away so maybe this WILL happen. I hope not!

 

I like Iggy,but Hawes is soft. Rich man's Brad Miller.

 

Look at Mayos previous seasons.....at a young age he has been able to put up some good numbers.

Everyone complains about not having talent or having a given direction. Mayo has far more upside than Lee and has proven he can play a bigger role on a team.

This board is always wanting trades and moves to be made. Yet when good ones such as this are proposed everyone ridicules them and how we shouldn't do a trade.

There is always risk involved.....so take it.

 

Exactly! How does OJ Mayo help us? We have K-Martin and CLee who play the same position and are playing better basketball. Our problem is not the 2-guard. I don't see how Mayo helps us. He has to dominate the ball to be effective. He's a talent so, he's worth looking into, but only if we are rebuilding.

If we are rebuilding, I'd keep CLee, and trade Brooks for Mayo. Mayo/Lee/Lowry is a nice back court. I'd try and move Martin in a package for a superstar.

 

IMO unless you are going to go through the pain of developing Mayo at PG, it is a waste. For me he is a mediocre SG prospect. A slightly better Ben Gordon but nothing special as a SG. Oh and I think he has the potential to be a All NBA PG long term but it will take some Billups-like growing pains and patience.

Thabeet just does not have the work ethic to realize his potential.

 

The Rockets need a good solid center, period. Making trades for other pieces that are not all star or superstar caliber is just Morey spinning his wheels. It would make the trade maniacs in this bbs happy but it would not bring the Rockets any closer to a championship.

 

You know what makes sense to me?

Sending AB back to the northwest.

Sending YM's contract to NO.

Keeping KM and CB.

Bringing Gortat and / or Ibaka to Houston.

 

Courtney Lee is sitting tonight? Sorry if someone mentioned it, but I just heard it mentioned before the game started. Bill didn't mention any details, injury or trade rumors coming true?

 

Pneumonia.

 

Yea thanks, I just started reading the game thread and saw that mentioned. Thanks for the reply though.

 

I somewhat agree but if not Hawes than Speights. It's so hard to evaluate this Sixers big men with all their roations. Buy I'd take either.

 

Good chance DM does Lee for Mayo, maybe getting an extra 2nd round pick. Why? Because High Upside Deal are Morey's THREE MIDDLE NAMES!

As for trading Martin for a center, please, forget about Thabeet, Dalembert, Gortat, yadda, yadda, yadda. If KM gets traded straight up for a center, he will be at the level of Noah, Nene, Horford, Kaman. Maybe add a little to get Brook Lopez or Bynum.

 

Mayo is one of the most overrated players of all time. People dont want to accept the fact that he puts up numbers at the expense of the team game.

He is extremely inefficient.

And if hes not starting and not dominating the ball, he becomes a big whiner and distraction

It is mind boggling how people cant see his worth when he cant even make on the Memphis Grizzlies

Its just mind boggling