O.J. Mayo, Andre Iguodala: Players Chicago Bulls should avoid in free agency – NBA Feature – Part 3
O.J. Mayo
O.J. Mayo is an exciting young shooting guard, who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies. Amidst all the trade and free agency hype, his has also been linked with the Chicago Bulls. The 23 year old player was drafted in 2008 by the Minnesota
Timberwolves as 3rd overall pick, but the franchise subsequently traded him to the Grizzlies.
In the first two seasons of his career, Mayo had a terrific run with the Grizzlies. In the 2008-09 season, he scored 18.5 points then followed with 17.5 points per game performance next season. Mayo participated in all 82 games
in his first two seasons at an average of 38 minutes on the court. He is considered as one of the fine jump shot makers in the league and has the ability to dissect the traffic at will.
However, when it comes to discipline and conduct, Mayo becomes a liability. Last season gave enough proof of that. It all started when he got involved in an on flight scuffle with Tony Allen over a petty card game. The Grizzlies
moved Mayo to the bench after that and ironically brought Tony Allen to replace him. Days after, he got involved in a drug scandal and the league imposed a ten game ban on him.
With reduce minutes and so much of negative hype; Mayo’s stats came down drastically. He played 71 games and on average logged in for 26.3 minutes per game. In that span, he scored at an average of 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and
2.0 assists per game.
The Bulls will certainly not want a player who has the tendency to spoil the environment of the locker room and has blown hot and cold last season. They want a player who is consistently good and helps them in their surge for NBA
glory. Plus, if the deal does take place, Memphis will probably ask for Taj Gibson, Luol Deng or Omer Asik in return and that can make the equation very complicated indeed.
Andre Iguodala
Philadelphia 76ers’ Andre Iguodala has been linked with many teams off late and Chicago Bulls have been the most prominent among those. The 27 year old is an asset on defence and with his tremendous athletic ability; he can hound
any player in the league.
Iguodala also has the capacity to play the role of a facilitator, who can help the offensive unit from time to time and at the same time, he can easily drive to the rim. Andre’s career stats of 15.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.8
assists clearly depict his calibre. His shooting is not bad either. On average, he converts 46.2 percent of his shots from the field including 32.3 percent from the three-point range.
Iguodala’s stats did not change much in the 2010-11 season with the Sixers, as he tallied 14.1 points on a 44.5 percent field goal shooting together with 5.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. In fact, he was pivotal in carrying
the Sixers to the playoffs last season
Iguodala is a fine material, most probably what the Bulls are seeking. However, to attract a player like Iguodala the Bulls need more funds which would not be possible for them, as Chicago already has a bloated payroll.
The options for the Bulls to get Iguodala, is that either they have to give up Luol Deng or Carlos Boozer. Chicago would want to give Boozer another chance and Deng has proven that is a brilliant perimeter shooter and post player,
perhaps even better than Iguodala. So, despite all the advantages that Iguodala brings with him, Chicago would do well not to restrict themselves on the financial cap, especially with a new, tighter CBA expected.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article and the ratings assigned are the writer’s own personal views and has nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
Tags: