Draft Watch: Is Mayo the No. 2 pick?
CHICAGO -- The debate continues to rage in Chicago Bulls country about the No. 1 pick.
I spoke with John Paxson on Thursday and you can listen to the entire interview here on the podcast.
Paxson was adamant that the Bulls haven't made up their minds and won't decide what to do until they see both Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose work out. So whomever you put atop your mock draft, you have a 50 percent chance of saying "I told you so" to someone.
AP Photo/Don Ryan
It's possible O.J. Mayo could find himself in Miami, paired with Dwyane Wade.
But after talking to Paxson, I think the theoretical guy he's describing -- the player who is a leader, who makes people better, has great character and can be a franchise player -- sounds like Rose. Paxson denied this on the interview, but more and more people in the league seem to be coming to the conclusion that this is Rose's pick to lose.
If the Bulls take Rose No. 1, that leads to an interesting scenario with the Heat at No. 2. Sources say the Heat want Rose, too, but if he's not on the board, a source familiar with the Heat's thinking told me that the team is interested in O.J. Mayo and think he might be a great fit in the backcourt with Dwyane Wade.
I'm not sure why the Heat are shying away from Beasley, as he would be a good fit in Miami. But I see why Miami likes Mayo. While Rose is a pure point guard, his lack of a jump shot would make him a somewhat less than ideal fit alongside Wade. Yes, the Heat would have the most athletic backcourt in the league, but without much outside shooting.
Mayo, on the other hand, is an excellent shooter with deep range. He also has enough point guard skills to run a team like Miami, especially with Wade, a combo guard, also handling the ball a lot. Mayo's basketball IQ and age (he'll be 21 in November) also make him a little more NBA-ready than Rose right now.
For several years NBA teams have ranked Mayo as the top prospect in his draft class. After a shaky start for USC, he came on strong at the end of the season. And he has looked awesome in his Chicago workouts with Tim Grover.
Mayo's Clinic
Chad Ford watched O.J. Mayo work out on Thursday, and will have a report on the highly-regarded draft prospect in the coming days.
If the Heat decide Mayo's the guy, they may be able to swing a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Seattle Supersonics or Memphis Grizzlies that would give them both Mayo and an extra piece of the puzzle. I think all three teams would give up something significant for the chance to move up and draft Beasley.
• I've gotten quite a bit of feedback from NBA GMs on our first mock draft of the year -- enough that I'll be making some adjustments on Monday.
Here's a sneak preview of one of the things I'm hearing:
Everyone is telling me that I have DeAndre Jordan too low. While there were several sources disputing the rumor that Jordan has a top-five commitment (the word now is that he's supposed to be working out for the Grizzlies at No. 5, the New York Knicks at No. 6, the Charlotte Bobcats at No. 9 and the Indiana Pacers at No. 11), everyone said they'd be shocked if Jordan were to slip out of the top 10 on draft night. Currently we have him at No. 14 to Golden State, but that will probably change.
"He's just too big and too talented to slip that far," one GM said. "There are a lot of risks with him, but big guys with that talent just don't slip that far."
• The first round of invites for the Orlando predraft camp went out on Thursday. I am still compiling the list of who was invited and who wasn't and will get it to you when I have it. More interesting was the physical-only invite list, which we have.
Each year the NBA invites a select group of players to Orlando for physicals. Normally this group just goes through some testing (height, weight, vertical jump, strength training), a medical physical and some light drills. This list is usually the first indication of the players the league thinks are the best in the draft.
A league source told me that there are 12 players on the list at the moment: Beasley, Rose, Mayo, Brook Lopez, Jerryd Bayless, Danilo Gallinari, Anthony Randolph, Eric Gordon, Jordan, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and D.J. Augustin. That also happens to be our Top 12 in our Top 100.
Among the names to be left off the list so far are Joe Alexander, Kosta Koufos, Marreese Speights, Donte Greene and Darrell Arthur. But the league has been known, in the past, to offer more spots as we get closer to the camp.
• Trade rumors keep coming hot and heavy, though most of them are aren't worth repeating.
But here's one intriguing one I heard today: The Cleveland Cavaliers could trade Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and the No. 19 pick to Indiana for Jermaine O'Neal.
It's an interesting idea, but when I called team sources to find out if there was any truth to it, they shot it down as bogus.
Still, I'd watch both teams closely. I think the Pacers will move O'Neal this summer if they can, and I think the Cavs are definitely going to try and strengthen the supporting cast this summer for LeBron's sake. A healthy O'Neal could be a big boon for the Cavs, and head coach Mike Brown, formerly with the Pacers, should know how to get the best out of him.
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
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