The Mavs and Timbewolves have engaged in sign-and-trade talks about O.J. Mayo, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, with J.J. Barea or Luke Ridnour likely heading to Dallas in return. The Mavericks are also discussing a Mayo sign-and-trade with the Clippers involving Eric Bledsoe, though any Mayo deal probably hinges on Dallas missing out on Dwight Howard. Dallas would no doubt prefer the Bledsoe deal to any of the Minnesota trade options, so the Wolves appear to be down the list of options, notes Wolfson (on Twitter), who also points out that a Minnesota-Dallas trade isn't imminent.
Any sign-and-trade would require Mayo's consent, and Mayo and Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders were scheduled to meet today. Still, there are more than a half dozen teams with interest in the shooting guard, who seems destined to improve on the $4MM option for next season that he turned down from the Mavs.
The Mavs are reportedly becoming more and more confident they can work out a sign-and-trade for the Landmark Sports Agency client, and having at least two such deals in the works seems to indicate that's the case. Mayo tailed off after a hot start last season, but he still averaged 15.3 points per game and showed career-best 40.3% three-point shooting.
The Mavs aren't the only ones who've had multiple sign-and-trade deals in the works. Before Mike Dunleavy agreed to sign with the Bulls, the Wolves and Bucks were discussing a sign-and-trade that would have sent Ridnour to Minnesota, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.