The Garden Grasp

Need For Speed

by Greg Hutchins

With pre-draft workouts in full swing, the growing dilemma of what to do with the 6th overall selection becomes far more complex. If Mike D’Antoni is truly looking for an engine, he’s test driven a few high-octane prospects including O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon & and Jerryd Bayless. After Mayo’s workout, it’s clear he’s a perfect fit for a team looking for V8 horsepower.

Contrary to the belief that Mayo is just another poor decision-making combo guard, an in-depth analysis of his ability shows he compares favorably to his summer workout partner, Dewayne Wade. Critics say Mayo’s assist-to-turnover ratio at USC make him a risky proposition for a team looking to convert him into a pass-first point guard. Unlike Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford & Nate Robinson, Mayo has the tools to run an offense and lead the defensive effort from either guard spot. At 6-5 & 195lbs, Mayo reminds many of Miami’s do-it-all shooting guard.

As a freshman for the Trojans, Mayo posted averages of 20.7 ppg, 3.3 apg & 1.5 spg. The stat that’s commonly brought up when talking about Mayo is how he had more turnovers than assists in his lone season of collegiate basketball. His 3.5 turnovers per night have scouts & media-types questioning if he can become an effective distributor. Unlike Eric Gordon & Jerryd Bayless, Mayo didn’t have the benefit of playing alongside All-American talent. Gordon’s Indiana Hoosier teammate DJ White was a top performer in the Big Ten and Bayless had fellow lottery hopeful Chase Budinger as the number two option for the Arizona Wildcats. Mayo was essentially a one man show for Tim Floyd. A further look at Mayo’s stats show he shot an impressive 44.2% from the field, 40.9% from three-point range, 80.3% from the line and pulled down 4.5 rebounds per night.

Although A:TO ratio is a prime indicator for effectiveness at the guard position, it can be misleading if a primary ballhandler is asked to score early & often. Dewayne Wade’s career averages of 6.5 apg to 3.89 turnovers per night are rather poor on the surface, but Wade is clearly one of the 10 best NBA players when healthy. As a rookie, Wade averaged 4.5 assists to 3:21 turnovers along with 16.2 ppg. During the 2005-06 season, Wade posted averages of 6.57 assists to 3.57 turnovers while leading Miami to their first NBA title.

All the talk around Mayo coming to New York will be for naught if he goes to Minnesota at three as some mock drafts predict. Should he fall to six, there’s no question who fans will be chanting for on draft day. Walsh is clearly intent on getting the team under the cap by 2010 for a run at several top free agents including Wade. There’s no need to sign a superstar when you can draft one at a fraction of the cost.