O.J. Mayo Struggling as a Sixth Man

Filed under: Grizzlies

First, it was 2006 draftee Rudy Gay who got a big-money contract from the Memphis Grizzlies.

Then cashing in was Mike Conley, taken in the 2007 draft.

Is 2008 draftee O.J. Mayo the next young Grizzlies player to be locked up to a lucrative long-term deal?

Well, each day it's looking to be more of a long shot.

The Grizzlies, if they don't end up trading Mayo, don't have to make an initial decision on the shooting guard until Oct. 31, 2011, and could let him become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2012. So far, there's been little to show this season that Mayo is as high-priority of a future Memphis piece as once thought.

After averaging 18.5 points as a rookie in 2008-09 and 17.5 last season, Mayo has seen his scoring average plummet to 12.2 this season. He's come off the bench the past nine games, averaging a measly 8.9 points.

Mayo, 23, won't say outright he wants a contract extension offer next summer much like a pair of up-and-coming Grizzlies have gotten in recent years. Gay, 24, received an offer in the summer of 2009 but ended up waiting, and signed a five-year, $82 million deal as a restricted free agent last summer. Conley, 23, signed a five-year, $40 million extension (with $5 million more available in possible incentives) just at the deadline a little over a month ago.

 

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Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/07/o-j-mayo-struggling-as-a-sixth-man/

Rafael Nadal Rafael van der Vaart Retief Goosen Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Quaresma