The Chicago Bulls were always a long-shot to sign O.J. Mayo in NBA free agency, and those dreams officially ended on Monday night when the 24-year old guard agreed to terms with the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls were one of a number of teams reportedly interested in Mayo. The former Memphis Grizzlies reserve broke the news himself by taking to Twitter:
I will be signing with dallas! #Mavsnation
— OJ Mayo (@JuiceMayo32) July 17, 2012
While terms of the deal have yet to be reported, it's important for those who wanted Mayo in Chicago to consider the difficult position the Bulls are in with regards to the salary cap. The team is over the cap and likely to enter the luxury tax next season. The Bulls could have potentially tried to use the $5.1 million trade exception acquired via the Kyle Korver deal to the Atlanta Hawks to vie for Mayo's services. It remains unclear how serious Chicago's pursuit of Mayo became.
Mayo has been a highly-touted player dating back to his high school days, but he's struggled in the NBA to begin his career. The guard has already logged 9,873 minutes in the NBA without ever posting a PER higher than 15. That was surely troubling for any team contemplating throwing big money at the guard.
Mayo did not start a game for the Grizzlies last season and averaged 12.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
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