Will OJ Mayo be making treys in ‘Sota next season?
Fresh off of the NBA Draft and the subsequent Shabazz mania, NBA free agency is upon us. Here’s what we know so far:
OJ Mayo
The Wolves have already talked with OJ Mayo’s camp. Mayo, in fact was Flip’s first stop in his free-agent shopping.
Reading the tea leaves on stuff like this is never easy, but it appears that at the very least, there may be some “there” there to the earlier RUMINT about Flip & co.’s interest in Mayo. Like it or not, Mayo is a professional, starting-caliber shooting guard who would bring veteran experience to the position that a rookie whose upside might be higher lacks (cough, C.J. McCollum, cough).
Still, given that an unhealthy Brandon Roy played in only five games last season and was replaced the rest of the way by Luke Ridnour and J.J. Barea–point guards masquerading as shooting guards–it’s really tough to project how Mayo or any other traditional SG would fit into Rick’s offense.
Given what else is out there in free agency, I like Mayo the best of a bunch of imperfect possibilities to fill this area of need.
Tony Allen isn’t walking through that door. J.J. Redick probably isn’t either. Timberwolves killer Anthony Morrow is a great shooter but is otherwise very limited.
In-house, Alexey Shved probably isn’t the answer at the two unless he’s working out with Barry Bonds’ trainer or the Russians who got Drago ready for Rocky IV.
Now we need to figure out how Mayo and the Wolves’ salary cap situation jive. It currently appears they can only offer Mayo the mid-level exception.
Andrei Kirilenko
As most of you already know, Andrei Kirilenko opted out of the remaining year of his contract, walking away from a guaranteed $10 million+ for next season to test free agency.
Kirilenko’s Kuts may never to be in Minny
I have no idea whether the Wolves’ drafting Muhammad at #14 influenced AK’s decision, but what we know is that the likelihood of Kirilenko returning to the Wolves just got a lot smaller. Which is too bad. Despite his injuries last season (he missed 18 games), Kirilenko was probably the Wolves’ best player, averaging 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
The numbers don’t tell the whole story. Kirilenko fit great in Rick Adelman’s offense. At 32, he still played strong defense. He ran the floor like a deer. And his tattoos were pretty rad.
According to the Pioneer Press, AK wants a guaranteed three-year deal. Flip Saunders has shown no indication that he’s willing to sign Kirilenko for three years.
And so it goes; AK47 is probably no longer a Timberwolf. (For a ridiculously entertaining and insightful postmortem on Kirilenko’s time with the Wolves, see Steve McPherson’s write-up over at A Wolf Among Wolves.)
So there you have it. For each gap we fill, another opens up. The big question is whether the Wolves can address enough weaknesses in free agency to become the 48-win playoff hopeful that we’d all like to watch next season.
We’ll see.
Punch-Drunk Wolves 
Adding O.J. would certainly add to the growing list of celebrities on the Timberwolves roster. Sounds like Flip is pretty obsessed with surrounding Ricky with prolific shooters, which is comforting to know.
Hey, speaking of high-profile/low-cost free agents, Zach Harper provided a Greg Oden update. Unfortunately, no TWolves interest (so far!): http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/22597353/report-free-agent-greg-oden-is-drawing-interest-from-eight-teams
Yeah, adding Mayo’s career 38.2% 3PFG would be nice, and subtracting AK47’s (low-volume) 31% from distance would also mean we become a better-shooting team (all that said while recognizing the obvious tradeoffs you’re making in other areas with Kirilenko, and that we’re comparing apples and oranges, to some degree, because of the positional differences). Fingers are crossed that Shabazz can shoot the NBA three at 35% or so, as he’s likely to end up with a lot of those SF minutes if Kirilenko isn’t back.
Would love to see Oden end up with Cleveland – despite the logjam it would create in their frontcourt, the coolest team in the League would become even cooler – and more intriguing.
Greg Oden should NEVER take part in a team practice again. He’s literally a “games only” guy who can watch tape and participate in “walk throughs” to get ready for his nightly 12 to 15 minutes. If his legs feel good, those could be high-impact bench minutes. Think 1986 Bill Walton.
Yes, Cleveland sounds like a good spot.
When I think of Greg Oden by way of Bill Walton, I think this:
Dig the visuals!
AWESOME