NBA NEWS
Grizzlies, T-Wolves Make Blockbuster Deal
Published by MoonDog on June 27, 2008
ESPN.com is reporting the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed in principal to a deal involving the Grizzlies draft rights to Kevin Love in exchange for the T-Wolves draft rights to O.J. Mayo.
Other terms of the deal include Memphis sending Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins to Minnesota for Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker and Greg Buckner.
ESPN.com reported earlier Tuesday that T-Wolves GM Kevin McHale has been infatuated with Love, but felt the team needed to draft Mayo with the No. 3 selection ostensibly using him as collateral to acquire more players.
While ridding themselves of the frequently injured Miller and the contract of Cardinal, Memphis failed to keep the interior presence the team desperately needs. Memphis had become an annual playoff team between 2004-2006 but haven’t been close to playoffs after letting center Lorenzen Wright walk via free agency following the 2006 season.
After consecutive 22-60 regular seasons, Memphis made the best choice possible in selecting Love, the 6-10 270-pound freshman from UCLA. Love would have provided the Grizzlies with exactly what they have lacked – a center to control the paint.
The bumbling Grizzlies front office has once again traded away the one player that could have made a difference. Earlier this year Memphis traded forward Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the addition of Mayo, the Grizzlies now have a glut of guards on the roster including Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry and Javaris Crittenton. Instead of using the money created with the Gasol trade, Memphis has taken on the contract of Jaric, guaranteed at three years and $21 million.
Mayo left USC after his freshman year, averaging 20.7 PPG while helping to lead the Trojans to the NCAA tournament this past spring. Mayo, 6-4 and 200 pounds is extremely talented but isn’t the player the Grizzlies needed to help get them back to respectability.
The Grizzlies used the 28th pick of the draft (received from the Lakers for the Gasol trade) to select Syracuse forward Donte Green, a 6-9 220-pound forward. Green departed the Orange after his freshman season to make himself available for the draft.
Greene averaged 17.7 PPG and 7.2 RPG this past season for Syracuse. While possessing a lot of potential, Greene will be a two or three-year project until he can develop into an NBA player.
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WalterFootball.com on Sat, 28th Jun 2008 13:01
That sucks. Congrats on landing Stephon Marbury Version 2.0 though
MoonDog on Sat, 28th Jun 2008 13:05
LOL – I only saw Mayo play a few times. Once was against the Memphis Tigers in December. I don’t question his talent, I question the wisdom of the deal. We needed a center, not another guard.
Joel on Sat, 28th Jun 2008 22:34
I don’t think that the trade would not have been as bad if the Grizzlies had drafted Joey Dorsey at 28. To quote Paul Silas “They are as soft as tissue paper”. Dorsey would have given them a toughness immediately, plus rebounding. Charles Oakley version 2.0. Arthur is a good player though.
They still have too many guards, even without Mayo…