MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -The Minnesota Timberwolves plan to work out O.J. Mayo later this week, perhaps to collect their final observations on a player they could take at No. 3 in the upcoming NBA draft.
Assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg said the team’s contingent has scheduled a Friday visit to Chicago, where Mayo has been training.
With most analysts judging guard Derrick Rose of Memphis and forward Michael Beasley of Kansas State as the top talents in the June 26 event, the Timberwolves – who choose after the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat – will have the first crack at the next tier.
Mayo, who left Southern California after his freshman season like Rose and Beasley, is widely viewed to be at or near the top of that list. Over the past month, Mayo’s name has been tarnished – fairly or not – by multiple reports of improper benefits he allegedly received through an agent while playing at USC. He’s a 6-foot-5 guard who’s 20 years old and full of potential.
“I think it’s good to see him. I think it’s good to get in front of him and interview him and talk to him and ask him some questions that we have,” Hoiberg said. “We know he can shoot. We know he can do a lot of good things on the basketball court.”
Vice president for basketball operations Kevin McHale was typically evasive when asked Monday about the situation.
“I don’t think Rose will be there at 3. If he is, we like him,” McHale said.
What about Beasley?
“Like him, too,” he said.
Naturally.
“I like a lot of guys,” McHale said.
The Wolves also have the No. 31 and 34 overall selections, at the beginning of the second round. McHale said those picks could be packaged to move into the end of the first round if there’s a player they value enough to pursue.
The Wolves are hosting several players this week at their practice facility. McHale, Hoiberg and the rest of the evaluators will fly to Los Angeles for a Thursday workout with Stanford center Brook Lopez and 19-year-old Italian forward Danilo Gallinari. Lopez has already been to Minnesota for a workout. Both players are projected as top-10 picks.
Many of the league’s best teams have filled out their starting lineups with Europeans over the past decade, but Minnesota has not kept up with that trend. Though McHale denied any increased interest in overseas prospects, Hoiberg – who has held his post for the past two years – said the Wolves have been studying the Euro leagues “very hard” lately.
One rising star, Nicolas Batum from France, was in a group of four the team worked out on Monday. Another Frenchman, the 7-foot-1 Alexis Ajinca, was due at Target Center Tuesday.
Add A Comment