At the 2008 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies thought they won the trade of moving Kevin Love for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ O.J. Mayo. Ten years later, they did not.
Ten years ago, the Memphis Grizzlies owned the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. The incoming rookie class was loaded with potential. At that time, the most recent NCAA collegiate season featured high-profile names of Derrick Rose (formerly of the University of Memphis Tigers), Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, and more.
The Grizzlies took their time to structure a deal that sent their fifth pick in exchange for the third pick, belonging to the Minnesota Timberwolves. A handful of fringe veterans were included from both sides, with the main components being the Draft picks. Most notably, Memphis sent Mike Miller to Minnesota, but also gained Greg Buckner, who has been recently named an assistant coach on the Grizzlies’ bench.
Once the trade reached completion, Kevin Love became the face of the Timberwolves franchise. O.J. Mayo, pairing with Rudy Gay, became a key piece to a rebuilding Grizzlies organization. This transaction would automatically generate a debate of which team made the better decision. Ultimately, it came down to which rookie was the better NBA player. Both rooks were highly-touted freshmen prospects.
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During the rookie seasons for Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo, both rookies impressed. They both lived up to the hype while guys such as the Milwaukee Bucks’ eighth overall pick, Joe Alexander, did not pan out.
If individually comparing rookie seasons, the Memphis Grizzlies’ “Juice” Mayo slightly pulled ahead of Minesota’s Love in their inaugural professional season. Mayo took home two Rookie of the Month awards while Kevin Love took home one of his own. By season’s end, O.J. received acknowledgement on the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team. Kevin Love fell slightly short, placing on the All-Rookie Second Team.
Statistically speaking, O.J. Mayo was an electrifying scorer (18.5 points per game on 43.8% field goal shooting) in his first season, which was perhaps the best season the guard produced in his eight NBA seasons. From the perspective of Kevin Love, the power forward fell short of a points-rebounds double-double average (11.1 points, 9.1 rebounds per game) as a rookie, but continued to progress in Minnesota.
One underrated aspect of Mayo’s time in Memphis was his longevity over the course of the season. He played each and every game in three of his four seasons with the Grizzlies. However, over time, O.J. Mayo’s production and efficiency continuously declined in most areas. Kevin Love experienced a 6.2-point increased in offensive production from his second to third year. Prior to being traded from the Timberwolves to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, Love would eclipse the 20-point average mark in three seasons, along with leading the league in total rebounding average (15.2 boards per game) in 2010-11.
For Kevin Love, games were not being won in Minnesota. He failed to pull his team into the postseason during his Timberwolves tenure. As for O.J. Mayo, he received help. From Rudy Gay already being on the squad to the team bringing veterans Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, and others aboard the Grizz train, Memphis became a playoff powerhouse. Mayo was one of the few outside-shooting options Memphis had on their roster at the time.
When comparing Mayo to Love, the two players had taken on completely different roles. O.J. was a role player while Kevin was leading an entire squad seemingly by himself. “Juice” was experiencing more team wins, but it definitely was not solely because of his decreasing contributions. To this day, Kevin Love has earned five NBA All-Star nods. Needless to say, O.J. Mayo has never achieved that particular feat.
The major downfall to Mayo’s hoops career was not his strong-minded nature. It was not his gambling hobby. It was not by being a ballhog. It also was not related to poor shot selection. It surprisingly was not his refusal to play defense. It was his off-court activities involving substances banned by the National Basketball Association.
In Mayo’s last season having appeared in the NBA — 2015-16 — Kevin Love won an NBA World Championship as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. While O.J. has been suspended from the association for two years, Love has reached the NBA Finals with the Cavs in four consecutive years.
Kevin Love is not dropping 20-point, 20-rebound performances on a frequent basis as he was accustomed to doing with the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, he remains to be an overall All-Star talent. It certainly helps to play alongside LeBron James, perhaps the best basketball player the world has ever seen. Regardless, Love is winning many critical games for his team while playing second fiddle to King James. O.J. Mayo cannot say the same for any of these aspects.
Overall, the discussion of this infamous 2008 NBA Draft trade, which reached completion several hours after Draft Night, is not between which team won the deal. Both franchises were once again lottery-bound by the end of the 2008-09 season. Despite Mayo finding misfortune stemming from a personal matter two years ago, the Memphis Grizzlies earned greener pastures by dealing for O.J. in the summer of 2008. This is due to the unforeseen series of events that would take place beyond the Mayo’s rookie year. Had they retained Kevin Love, all the glory of the “Grit-‘N’-Grind” days would have never been experienced.
Had the Memphis Grizzlies kept Kevin Love rather than dealing him for “Juice,” it likely would have prevented the arrival of Zach Randolph in the 901. Tony Allen probably would not have signed a free-agent deal with Memphis. The words “grit” and “grind” would be nonexistent from Grizz Nation’s dictionary.
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How great of a duo would Rudy Gay plus Kevin Love have been? Considering the Grizz reached their peak of the Rudy Gay-era with Rudy being sidelined with an injury, the results probably would not have been pretty. Again, Love was not able to do it all by himself in Minnesota. He likely would not have earned a postseason appearance while donning a Grizzlies uniform.
It boils down to a player-to-player comparison and it is not close. O.J. Mayo was better than Kevin Love in one season. Now, “Juice” is jobless. Kevin Love is an NBA World Champion and a frequent face in the NBA Finals in addition to being a regular name in the annual All-Star Game. The 31-year-old Mayo could be reinstated as soon as the 2018-19 season — ten years after being drafted into the league. Even then, why would a team want to take a chance on him?
Flash-forward to the Memphis Grizzlies’ current state, the team is yet again involved in NBA Draft-related trade discussions. Whatever the Front Office decides on Thursday, June 21st, hopefully they will be on the receiving end of a Kevin Love-type prospect rather than an O.J. Mayo figure that blossoms way too early into their career. Less controvery, more balling is what is desired. Even after the upcoming season comes to an end, the Grizzlies’ book is not closed. In the NBA, Draft selections are not the only determinants of a franchise’s success.
Go Grizz!