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Could OJ Mayo reach Kobe-like potential? More questions. Re-examining the Love Mayo trade. By John Nguyen
12.6.2008 - Updated on 12.6.2008
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The trade that went down on draft night was OJ Mayo, Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker, and Greg Buckner for Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins. When this trade went down, my gut reaction: What the hell are you doing, McHale? You just traded away a 25+ point scorer who plays some defense! Idiot!
And this doesn’t surprise over the man who sacrificed everything for Joe Smith. Joe Smith? Are you serious, B? Why did this trade go down? Kevin McHale fell in love with Kevlar. He loves big men that listen to the Beach Boys while battling weight problems. He did get back Mike Miller in the process, too. He’s solid, but no game changer that affects the wins-loss column. Why trade a guy who is going to be a perennial all-star? Perhaps David Stern told him that he didn’t want a Gay Love duo on any team.
Originally my thought was OJ Mayo, and whoever his agent is, wanted Mayo to be the third pick and McHale probably thought the same way. It was just Mayo wasn’t his guy. He already loves Love and wanted more out of the 3rd pick hence the trade. Logically, it’s the way to go, but it’s not necessarily the right thing to do. From this writer’s prospective, it was the wrong thing.
The other argument for not keeping Mayo is that they already have Randy Foye, Sebastian Telfair, and Rashad McCants. Getting him would only cause a guard glut. That’s almost like saying “we can’t take Michael Jordan because we already have Clyde Drexler.” I’m not saying that those guards equal Clyde nor am I saying that Mayo = MJ. It’s just a way of putting things into perspective.
Both Minnesota and Memphis are craptacular squads so let’s disregard who they’re playing with because that doesn’t matter. Individually, Mayo brings more to the bank than Love can ever bring. Right now, Mayo is killing it.
2008-2009 stats (through 19 games) PPG 21.3 RPG 4.5 APG 2.4 SPG 1.3 BPG 0.1 FG% 0.465 FT% 0.871 3P% 0.380 MPG 38.9
If he keeps it up, he’ll be second in rookie of the year voting (the Great Poohdini in Chicago will win it). Love is not in consideration because he just isn’t. Averaging a single-single cannot get the job done.
So can Mayo reach Kobe-like potential?
Flagrant Foul will take a cue from President Barack Obama and say, “Yes he can.”
The only thing that’s holding Mayo back is his height, but that does not look like a hindrance. He’s putting up numbers in his rookie season that Kobe did entering his 3rd year. He has this “It” swagger that Kobe has if you’ve been watching him. Since he’s been great so far, this poses further bonus questions: Who is the franchise player of the Memphis Grizzlies? Rudy Gay or OJ? Can OJ Mayo (assuming that he stays healthy and keeps improving) one day surpass Kobe’s career stats? Never say never because LeBron James is already better than Kobe statistically.
I can answer one question with a straight face though: Kevin McHale is horrific as a GM.
[image:http://www.flickr.com/photos/projectmarc/2127670330/] |
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Posted by
ROGER
on 12.30.2008 | LEBRON HAS BETTER NUMBERS THAN KOBE BECAUSE HE CAME IN ON A WACK TEAM AND PLAYED OVER 35 MINUTES A GAME WHILE STARTING. KOBE WAS 17 AND CAME ON A LAKERS TEAM THAT WAS ALREADY REALLY GOOD WITH TWO ALL STAR GUARDS IN VAN EXEL AND EDDIE JONES. KOBE ONLY GOT REAL PLAYING TIME IN HIS THIRD YEAR AFTER THOSE TWO WERE TRADED. YOU HAVE TO CHECK KOBE’S NUMBERS SINCE HE STARTED. . | Posted by
J. Nguyen
on 12.13.2008 | Bingo, Tim. OJ Mayo is a potential star. He’s already up there in consecutive double digit scoring games to start their careers with the likes of Michael Jordan, Carmelo Anthony and Magic Johnson. To be up there with those is truly something special.
To "Cuchi tunnelmanguyen", Kobe’s rookie season is inexcusable to use. So he was playing behind Eddie Jones? So? Jones was an All Star at the time and have superior defense. There was no reason to start Kobe. Yes, it was unfortunate for Kobe, but it is what is. This still doesn’t disprove anything. Mayo will be a special player if he doesn’t suffer any significant injuries. . | Posted by
tim
on 12.10.2008 | melo boy, what guy have you been watching, how in the helll can you say oj mayo sucks, thats like saying michael jordan sucks, hey if you dont like the guy thats fine, but dont talk stupid, i didnt like jordan, but he is one of the best, can oj be as good as kobe, absolutely, just look at the numbers, listen people whatever grade,whatever school that mayo has played for hes always been the best on the court and the leauge, i know i watched him play the best in high school and college and nobody compares !!!!! . | Posted by
Cuchi tunnelmanguyen
on 12.9.2008 | nice article. it makes sense. Kobe averaged 7.6 pts per game in his 1st season. Yeah he’s never been to college but look, having Shaq and Eddie Jones at that time was inexcusable. . | Posted by
The Real J.Nguyen
on 12.8.2008 | Whoever is posting as me, stop doing that. Get your own life. You should be ashamed of yourself. Please stop it. You can disagree with what I wrote all you want, but don’t go around posing as me.
OJ Mayo will be a force in this league because it’s already amazing what he’s doing in his rookie year. Like a few people agreed, he has to get out of Memphis. . | Posted by
40inchleaper
on 12.8.2008 | I think it would be great if both g--and Mayo grow together as duo. but i like the idea that Mar Gasol could be a monster like Dwight Howard. . | Posted by
Worldscollide
on 12.7.2008 | I agree with O. Sandor, the city he plays in is not conducive to any up and coming superstar. Imagine if Kobe wasn’t traded to the Lakers when he was drafted, what if he started out in Charlotte with the Hornets. At the time that team would’ve rode Kobe with superstar minutes before he was ready, possibly lowering his long term potential. I liked the article, thanks for writing. . | Posted by
J. Nguyen
on 12.7.2008 | I like mayos potential but him growing up to become kobe? I dont think so. . | Posted by
melo boy
on 12.7.2008 | no! he sucks and is in the heat of the moment. just wait till he gets injured. . | Posted by
J.Nguyen
on 12.7.2008 | Thanks for the comments, guys. It’s great to see people giving their opinions to wonder if Mayo can be anything close to Kobe’s scoring genius. Great going. You guys are sure cla-------acts.
No one even bothered to answer the questions I underlined towards the end. Hmmm..if you guys really hated me, you could have at least challenged the stats and notions I put up. Funny how fans can have knee-jerk reactions. I love my haters. You guys just continue to make me look good. Lovin’ it. Keep it movin. If you’re going to hate me, HATE ME ALL THE WAY. Never ever half-@ss it. If you do, you have disappointed me therefore labeling you as NOT a true hater. I know you guys can do better than those insults. WEAK.
to Gunna and Sandor, thanks for reading. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mayo becomes a perennial all star averaging almost 30 points for a few seasons during his peak years. That type of projection is scary and is definitely "Kobe-like." If he truly wants to travel further in the playoffs though, he has to get out of Memphis. His defense is ok, but he really needs to work extremely hard to be considered 2nd team. I think he will reach that since I can see he has the work ethic. After all, he’s not Michael Beasley and hands down, he should have been the 2nd pick in the draft. A Dwayne Wade-OJ Mayo would have been extremely nasty.
To I Hate Kobe, Deandre Jordan or Jordan Farmar? LOL . | Posted by
O.Sandor
on 12.7.2008 | Hi John ... Like always another interesting piece that I enjoyed. Good stuff. A couple of thoughts. I don’t see Mayo reaching All-World potential because of where he is, not so much because of skill. Memphis is a terrible franchise which can’t bring the best out of anybody. He is in the wrong situation to really blossom, which is sad. Same for Rudy Gay. Great young players need support and mentors, not owners looking to sell their club. As for McHale, his biggest mistake recently was taking Foye (a nice player) over Brandon Roy (a fast developing superstar). Minnesota is in a ton of trouble. Good stuff John. . | Posted by
g gutta
on 12.7.2008 | john nguyen keep up the great articles your the best, your friend G GUTTA . | Posted by
on 12.7.2008 | you guys are the ones that keep reading. Add something to the conversation or gtfo. The TWolves are horrific, if they dont improve within the next two years I think Mchale will get fired . | Posted by
on 12.7.2008 | I can answer another question with a straight face too: John Nguyen is horrific as a "writer". . | Posted by
on 12.7.2008 | I laughed when he called himself a writer. . | Posted by
on 12.7.2008 | j nguyen no disrespect to you but i hate your articles, but still a big clap for your effort. peace . | Posted by
on 12.7.2008 | Once again, j nguyen can’t take criticism and proves he has the mental stability and emotional maturity of a 7 year old girl.Which is a shame really cos this is a good article, well at least in comparison to the load of dog faeces wrapped in internet cod he usually puts up on this site. . | Posted by
I Hate Kobe
on 12.6.2008 | If you think OJ Mayo will be better than Kobe, then you’re lame. And I still hate Kobe.
Jordan 4 Life. . |
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