O.J. Mayo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: O.J. Mayo, Kyrie Irving, Nuggets

August 11th, 2012 at 10:01pm CST by Daniel Seco

The value Andre Iguodala brings to the Nuggets goes beyond the swingman's stat line, writes Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post. Thanks to his strong defense and myriad intangibles, Iguodala made the All-Star team during the 2011/12 season even though he averaged just 12.4 PPG. Here's the latest news and headlines from around the NBA…

Mavs shooting guard O.J. Mayo seems excited about taking his talents to Dallas and is poised for a breakout year, writes Derek Page of HoopsWorld. “I felt like Dallas was the best situation for me,” Mayo said. "They have a good team, they have a great player in Dirk Nowitzki, they have a terrific owner with Mark Cuban."
Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving has been warning rookies about the rigors of head coach Byron Scott's training camp nicknamed "Camp Scott," says Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. "All the warnings don't amount to much until you experience Camp Scott for yourself," Irving said. "You have to deal with it. He's a hard-nosed coach, and he's trying to get the most out of you."
Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops examines the Nuggets' offseason and analyzes the moves the team made and how the roster looks heading in the 2012/13 season. He predicts Denver will make the playoffs but is not ready to compete for a championship as it doesn't have enough talent at this point.

Sefko On Mavericks, Crowder, Dwight

July 31st, 2012 at 9:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW engaged in a chat with fans about the Mavericks' offseason. Among his more notable thoughts were that the team's interest in Steve Nash was never that serious, Mark Cuban deserves to be applauded for their attempt to land Deron Williams despite falling short, and that he gives the team a grade of "B" for their work this summer. Here are some more of the highlights:

The additions of Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones, O.J. Mayo, and Elton Brand should give Dirk Nowitzki plenty of reasons to be excited about the upcoming season.
Sefko has continued to hear good things about Jae Crowder (selected 34th overall in last month's draft) and thinks that Crowder, along with first-round pick Jared Cunningham, should receive long looks in training camp.
Being able to reserve cap room along with the collection of assets and one-year contracts that Dallas obtained this summer, he believes that the team still feels they have a shot at landing Dwight Howard, whether via trade or during free agency next summer.

Mavericks Sign O.J. Mayo

July 19th, 2012 at 3:59pm CST by Michael Pina

THURSDAY, 3:59pm: Mayo has officially signed his contract with the Mavs, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

TUESDAY, 11:40pm: The deal is for two years, with a second-year player option, according to Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com (via Twitter).

10:14pm: Free agent guard O.J. Mayo has announced via Twitter that he's decided to sign with the Mavericks. ESPNDallas.com's Jeff Caplan reports that it's a multiyear deal, and that the Mavs had roughly $4MM left in cap space; they either signed him to a deal that fits under that figure, or are planning to participate in a larger sign-and-trade move.

At this stage in the summer, Mayo was considered to be one of the most sought-after players left on the market. He recently met with the Suns, but reportedly walked away from the meeting with no offer from the team. Mayo was asking for $8MM per season.

Last season the 24-year-old guard's role in Memphis changed, as he saw himself take a permanent role off the bench for the first time in his playing career. In his fourth year, Mayo averaged 12.6 PPG and 2.6 APG, and was nearly dealt to the Celtics for Ray Allen at the trade deadline.

We don't yet know how much money the deal amounts to, which is obviously important, but on the surface this move is a positive one for an active Mavericks team that suffered a huge blow two weeks ago after Deron Williams announced he'd be signing with Brooklyn. Mayo could either slide back into a starting role, or fill in for the recently departed Jason Terry as the team's main scoring presence off the bench.

Suns Rumors: Brown, Lee, Harden, Mayo, Lopez

July 19th, 2012 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Phoenix may have lost star point guard Steve Nash, but don't expect the team to bottom out this season, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The Suns have managed to add a few long-term pieces to the roster, including Goran Dragic, Luis Scola, and Michael Beasley, while maintaining spending flexibility for next summer. Let's round up a few Thursday afternoon Suns notes from Coro's piece and elsewhere….

Having inked the aforementioned players, the Suns appear to be putting the brakes on major signings for the rest of the offseason. It's possible they bring back Shannon Brown, but unlikely they seriously pursue Courtney Lee, according to Coro.
Signing Brown to a short, affordable deal would keep the team's cap flexible enough to make a run at James Harden or another big-name free agent next summer, says Coro.
The Suns passed on O.J. Mayo due to "price and a questionable fit," according to Coro.
Coro adds that teams have made "unappetizing" sign-and-trade proposals to the Suns for restricted free agent Robin Lopez, who is still seeking an offer sheet.
Coach Alvin Gentry tells Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld that he isn't worried about the Suns' roster undergoing changes, and that he'll just focus on getting the best out of the players he has.

Odds & Ends: Calderon, Suns, Magic, Howard

July 15th, 2012 at 10:54pm CST by Alex Lee

Ever since the Raptors' acquisition of Kyle Lowry, there has been a steady flow of rumors revolving around Jose Calderon's future, or lack thereof, in Toronto. Calderon, who will run the point for Spain's Olympic team later this month in London, has already expressed his discontent with the thought of being relegated to back up duties, but according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, he may not have a choice.

Wolstat caught up with Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo who said, “We have had a few more trade inquiries regarding Jose (but) the scenario doesn’t seem to present itself to a trade today, but we’ll continue to monitor that and just try to determine whether it’s going to work in the long run.” Colangelo also implied that amnestying Calderon is not in the plans.

Here are some more updates from around the league on Sunday night:

Odds & Ends: Lin, Drummond, Joseph, Cavaliers

July 15th, 2012 at 3:08pm CST by Michael Pina

With ongoing uncertainty surrounding Jeremy Lin's tenure with the Knicks, ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling took the liberty of comparing the former Harvard point guard's skill set with the incoming Raymond Felton, who was acquired in a sign-and-trade with Portland last night. According to a few advanced statistics it's evident that Lin would be the better basketball option for New York, but the decision to let him go would be more of a financial one.

As we dig into this Sunday afternoon, here are a few more tidbits from around the league.

O.J. Mayo Meets With Suns

July 14th, 2012 at 6:03pm CST by Michael Pina

SATURDAY, 6:03pm: Beyond the Suns, Mayo is attracting interest from the Lakers, Bulls and Mavs, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Look for Mayo to make his decision on where he wants to play next season within the next 10 days.

FRIDAY, 6:02pm: Unrestricted free agent O.J. Mayo met with the Phoenix Suns on Friday, according to AZCentral.com's Tariq Lee. News on Mayo has been quiet as of late, and despite this being his first meeting with an organization, he's one of the more talented players left on the free agency market and should command some serious attention once a few other shooting guards officially sign with their respective teams.

The Suns currently have an offer sheet extended to Eric Gordon that was signed on Wednesday, but the Hornets still have until tomorrow to match, and they're expected to do so.

Suns Meeting With O.J. Mayo

July 13th, 2012 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

While the Suns wait to see if their offer sheet for Eric Gordon is matched by the Hornets, Phoenix is already working on Plan B. The Suns are meeting with O.J. Mayo today, as reported by Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com. Mayo himself confirmed today via Twitter that he has arrived in Phoenix to visit the club.

Free Agent Rumors: Nets, Pacers, Green

July 11th, 2012 at 9:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The July moratorium came to an end late last night, and a number of teams didn't waste any time in finalizing moves. The Lakers' acquisition of Steve Nash was the first transaction to become official, followed closely by the Knicks' signing of J.R. Smith, Deron Williams' contract with the Nets, and Blake Griffin's five-year extension with the Clippers. We're expecting more deals to be formally announced today, but there are plenty of free agents still on the market too. We'll be tracking the latest news on those guys right here, with the newest items added to the top of the page throughout the day….

The Nets are considering Kenyon Martin and Craig Smith and discussing a sign-and-trade for Antawn Jamison, clouding Kris Humphries' future with the team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
The Pacers are targeting unrestricted free agent Gerald Green as their wing player off the bench, and are expected to offer him a three-year, $10MM contract, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star. O.J. Mayo and Courtney Lee are out the team's price range at the moment (All Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

Suns To Strongly Pursue O.J. Mayo?

July 11th, 2012 at 12:45am CST by Luke Adams

O.J. Mayo wasn't the Suns' top target when free agency began, but he may become the team's number one priority very soon. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that if the Hornets match the Suns' offer sheet on Eric Gordon, Phoenix is expected to aggressively court Mayo.

There seems to be little doubt that the Hornets intend to match the Suns' offer sheet and keep Gordon, as both Ric Bucher of ESPN.com and John Reid of the Times Picayune reported earlier on Tuesday. As such, the Suns figure to have a good chunk of cap space left over to use on Mayo, who is seeking a contract worth more than the mid-level exception.

The Pacers are also said to be very interested in Mayo.