MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -O.J. Mayo held the ball near half-court, then started driving up the right side before darting back to his left and into the lane. Once he got under the basket, he turned and flipped the ball out to Marc Gasol for a jumper from the top of the key.
Gasol missed, but that didn't stop Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni from praising Mayo's decision to pass out from collapsing defenders.
Mayo appears ready to make his mark in the NBA.
And the Gizzlies, who acquired the 6-foot-5 guard in an eight-player deal after Minnesota selected him No. 3 overall in June's NBA draft, couldn't be happier.
"I'm very comfortable, and I'm very excited to get started with this season. Draft night was probably my most difficult night," Mayo said. "Get announced by one team, then traded to another team in the same night after that ... I'm very, very excited to start this season."
But Mayo's arrival in Memphis came with almost as much drama as his recruitment to college and his early departure from Southern California for the NBA. He thought he was headed to Minnesota until he saw news of the eight-player on television late draft night.
"I just wanted to get drafted, and I wanted to be a part of the NBA," said Mayo, who turns 21 in November.
What made the trade even tougher on Mayo was there was no phone call first with the news.
"That moment was the most difficult moment because in less than 24 hours of my dream come true, you understand it's a business that fast. I just had to deal with it and keep going," Mayo said.
Mayo knew he would be drafted by a lottery team even with the luck of the NBA pingpong balls. He had scouted rosters and teams, and the change in destination was helped by his friendship with Mike Conley - the Grizzlies' first-round draft pick a year ago.
The Grizzlies are a team that went 22-60 last season and finished last in the Western Conference's Southwest Division, matching those same Minnesota Timberwolves for the NBA's third-worst record.
Memphis spent the past few months shedding salaries and rebuilding with youth, a franchise with nine players 23 or younger. The Grizzlies swapped Kevin Love, the fourth pick overall, and 3-point shooter Mike Miller to Minnesota for Mayo in a deal that also brought them veterans Greg Buckner, Marko Jaric and Antoine Walker.
Buckner has gotten some minutes in the preseason, but Jaric has been limited by a broken nose suffered near the beginning of training camp. Iavaroni has called Walker overweight and said he's not sure what the veteran can bring to Memphis. Walker did not come off the bench in the final six exhibitions.
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