HoopsHype.com Rumors

Ben Rohrbach: Doc on old Ray/Mayo deal: "Memphis pulled plug, not us. … O.J.'s so much younger. That's a trade we really thought we had to look at hard." Twitter @brohrbach

Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies, Ray Allen, Trade, OJ Mayo, Doc Rivers 

After Dallas’ 105-100 victory over Houston, Carlisle was asked Mayo’s all-around performance, despite 3-of-14 shooting, was a sign that Mayo is learning to contribute in multiple ways. “It’ll be a bigger sign when I don’t have to scream at him at halftime about it,” Carlisle said. Call it tough love. Carlisle went on and on about how thrilled he has been with Mayo’s recent play, starting with the Jan. 1 Washington game. Carlisle saw slippage Wednesday night. “I thought in the first half, he took some shots that were ill-advised, when he is becoming a very good play-maker and a very good all-around basketball player. I’m sorry, it’s beneath me to watch a guy continue to veer off from the path that’s best for him and our team.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Rick Carlisle 

"I think we started kind of smelling our own stuff a little bit, got relaxed," Mayo said. "Obviously with the big fella [Nowtizki] coming back, we got even more relaxed -- like, 'He's here now. We held it down; he's here now.' And he wasn't all the way ready, you know? He was happy to be there, obviously, but he got tired from the workouts and the conditioning. So it was better to get him in some games. But I think we got even more relaxed when he came, thinking he was gonna come and take control of everything." NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

Carlisle has been unrelenting, demanding, driven at practice and in film sessions as he has tried to figure out a way to get the Mavs out of their dive. But the results have been middling at best. "I don't mean this in a bad way, because I love it, and this is probably not the best language," Mayo begins. "But to be all the way real? He's a [12-letter word]. He's on it, every little detail, every little thing -- 'You're not cutting hard.' We're five-on-oh [in practice], you're not moving fast enough. Defense, you're not help-side talking. Help, ball.' -- I love it because he hates to lose, and I hate to lose and we're losing games. We carry the attitude at home that maybe we shouldn't." NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

However, Dirk Nowitzki had plenty to say about the man who had been filling his shoes as the Mavs’ go-to guy until recently. “Juice gotta go back to playing the way he was when I was out,” Nowitzki said. “I don’t know what’s been going on lately. It looks like he doesn’t have the confidence. “But we depend on him. He’s got the ability. He showed it early in the year. He’s gotta make plays for us down the stretch as long as I’m not all the way there.” ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Dirk Nowitzki 

“I mean, I’m proud of him the way he always works, so I think he’s going to work his way out of it. ... If you put in the work, eventually you’re going to work your way out of it.” ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Dirk Nowitzki 

Mayo won’t get much time to reflect on his poor outing because the Mavericks face his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies, Friday night. The Grizzlies chose not to re-sign Mayo, who signed a two-year deal with the Mavs in July, but he said there won’t be any extra incentive to play well. “No, go win the game,” Mayo said. “It’s the decision they made. They’re a heck of a team. They’re playing well right now so we got to go in there and compete hard and play well.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

O.J. Mayo tried to claim that his first trip to Memphis as a Grizzlies foe was “just another game on the schedule.” Yeah, right, and Elvis Presley was just another singer. Mayo couldn’t keep the clichés coming. It didn’t take much to get him to admit that he had some major additional motivational fodder for his Memphis return. “Going back to a former team that you had some mishaps between the two parties, that’s the way it goes,” Mayo said. “You obviously want to go back and kick their butts. They want to kick your butt to show that you’re not needed, whatever the case may be.” ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, OJ Mayo 

Suffice to say, Mayo knew all along that he wouldn’t be returning to Memphis after his rookie deal expired at the end of last season. “Once you see the writing on the wall, you can’t be dumb to the fact,” said Mayo, who didn’t have any discussions with Memphis while he was a free agent. “I didn’t even go to the exit meeting. I pretty much knew what it was.” ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, OJ Mayo 

Whether Mayo has a chip on his shoulders about the way the Grizzlies gave him the cold shoulder, he didn't give any hint after the Mavs dropped a 115-90 decision to the defending NBA champion Miami Heat on Thursday. But he certainly has only one mission when the Mavs (12-14) play the Grizzlies (17-6) at 7 Friday night at the FexEd Forum. “I just want to go win the game,'' Mayo said. "They made the decision they made and they’re a heck of a team. "They’re playing well right now, so I just want to go in there and compete hard and play well.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, OJ Mayo 

Christopher A. Vito: The #Mavericks' O.J. Mayo declined a post-shootaround interview. He doesn't want to go on camera before he gets a haircut. For real? Twitter @ChrisVito

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Media 

How upset were you in the summer that you basically came out of free agency with a one-year deal? (Editor's note: Mayo's contract includes a $4.2 million player option for the 2013-14 season. OJ Mayo: Yeah, I was pretty disappointed. But at the end of the day, it's a business. People say that's how the market was, whatever that means. It's all good, man. I'm happy that I got the opportunity to talk to Dallas and come to Dallas. I just wanted to come here, give my all and play well here. And hopefully stay here. ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Free Agency, OJ Mayo 

The Celtics attempted to acquire Mayo for Ray Allen before the trade deadline last February, and talked with his representatives again over the summer. The Celtics eventually acquired Courtney Lee in a sign-and-trade, signing him to a four-year deal. “There was definitely interest in talking to them,” Mayo said before the game. “See what we could work out. But I don’t think we moved as fast as they liked. They made some other signing, so it’s all good.” Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Ray Allen, Trade, OJ Mayo 

When asked if he thought he was coming to Boston, Mayo said, “No, not at all. I didn’t get any wind of it. My agent didn’t talk to me about it. So, no.” Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

(Mayo) never fit the culture of the team. I spent some time with those guys in New Orleans last week and the story there is this… they have a very tight nit group of guys led by Zach Randolph and Tony Allen and they set the tone for things and OJ never accepted that, and pushed back on almost everything. It was not a good fit culturally… now Rudy Gay was very tight with OJ, but OJ never fit into with the other guys because he didn’t want to. Rudy is fitting in better with those guys this year and I think thats why they are having such success. HoopsWorld

Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, OJ Mayo 

Celtics analyst, and ex-UConn and NBA star, Donny Marshall said O.J. Mayo, who was coming to Boston in the Allen trade (the proposal was Mayo and a draft choice for Allen), scuttled things by making it clear Boston held no appeal to him. "On the Memphis side, O.J. Mayo was the guy who pretty much said, 'It really doesn't interest me to be a Boston Celtic,' " Marshall told Carolyn Manno on Wednesday night's SportsNet Central. "I think what he was told was, 'Think about the banners. Think about the history of this team,the legacy.' And O.J. Mayo basically said, 'I don't care about banners.' CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

Instead, Mayo blamed the deal’s failure on an internal debate between C’s players and the front office over Allen’s future. “I was pretty much set to come here and something fell through at the very last second,” said Mayo, who collected 24 points (10-19 FG), six rebounds, three assists and two steals in Wednesday night’s loss to the Celtics. “A couple of the guys wanted to keep Ray, and management wanted to make the trade. “It’s just business, though,” he continued. “I was just really trying to stay focused, because I’d been traded [to the Celtics] and it didn’t go through two or three times. It can mess with you, obviously. It’ll mess with anyone, but if it doesn’t go through, you’ve got to continue to be a professional, come to work and work hard.” WEEI.com

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Trade, OJ Mayo 

“Yeah, [the Celtics called me],” said Mayo, “but I think it didn’t go as rapid as they would’ve liked. They signed Lee and JET. That’s my position as well. It’s all right, though. … I’m happy where I am now in Dallas, playing with guys like Vince [Carter], ‘Trix [Shawn Marion], Dirk [Nowitzki], Chris [Kaman], EB [Elton Brand] and now D-Fish [Derek Fisher], so we’ve got great vets here, and I’m learning every day as much as possible.” WEEI.com

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

Andrew Perna: Reporter tells Mayo that Cousins got a one-game suspension. "Oh really, he did? Thanks." #Mavericks Twitter @Andrew_Perna

Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, OJ Mayo, DeMarcus Cousins 

Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA on Wednesday for striking Dallas' O.J. Mayo in the groin area in the Kings' road loss Monday night. ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, OJ Mayo, DeMarcus Cousins