[Lotto StudParticipant]

I know when Memphis brought him in it was for long term intentions, but with Mayo playing out his mind as a role player I think Lionel Hollins & the Grizz front office may want to reconsider not obtaining Mayo’s rights. I understand Henry has potential, but he just does not bring more to the table than Mayo IMO.

"Played in 38 games this year and got close to 15 minutes per game. He was good enough to take Mayo out of the starting lineup and, while playing, looked to take the reigns from Mayo, forever.. Could have to fight to earn his spot back but has shown the skill to be a starting SG in the league."-The8thDeadlySin

Me personally I do not think he is an upgrade over Mayo at all. Mayo has so much untapped potential waiting to be unleashed, once or if he ever gets his starting spot back. As the playoffs came around you heard more Gay trade rumors then anything. People may forget that he is the Franchise player which means he is there to stay. Henry still has plenty of trade value, because he has not did anything to drop it. I think it would be a bad move for Memphis to sit on him this summer, without trying to shop around for a deal, especially when they have players who have stepped up & proved themselves (Allen,Mayo,Young).

Should Memphis keep Henry or try to shop him around instead of sitting on him?

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

Henry showed alot of promise,plus his length bothered some guards..And played good defense for a rookie before he got injured…I think they should hold on to both he and Mayo and see how much Henry has blossomed ,before they make a move…

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

I like OJ a lot more. Great combo guard who can shoot from deep, create his own shot and do a decent job of handling the ball. Solid passer too. An IDEAL sixth man, and will be an awesome fifth option for the Grizzlies next year. I think Sam Young is ok. Good athlete, good size, strong, and can score inside. If his outside shot improves he will be a great threat off the bench at the 2 or 3.

That leaves Xavier Henry as the odd man put since they also have to play Tony Allen at shooting guard. I think the Grizzlies should trade Xavier Henry or at least shop him around since he has decent trade value, and also because he didn’t shoot well when he was here. Decent build and athletecism but nothing special. I would rather use his money to get another big man and to resign Shane Battier to a 1 or 2 year contract. The Grizzlies need to resign everyone and then round out the bench. If we keep OJ and resign Shane then there won’t be enough minutes for Xavier. I say try to trade him for a solid 4/5 to bring off the bench. Then resign Shane who is a solid veteran who can rebound and stretch the defense. I think the Grizzlies need to make a serious run next year and Xavier Henry might be 2 or 3 years away anyway.

[iguapops420Participant]

 Xavier fits better as he could be a two way starter. Something MAyo is too small to be(given he’s one of my top 10 favorties right now), Sam Young isn’t good enough as a full time starter offensively or defensively to be, and Ton yAllen is best served in doses as he has absolutely NO jumper. Xavier could end up a smaller Pierce which beside of Gay, groomed in a more complimentary role, coud be just what the Grizzlies need beside of Gay and Z-Bo. He fits the same mold of Conley Jr. and Gasol.

[AllDayyyParticipant]

OJ has tons of untapped potential? He’s been the same player since his JR year of HS.

[J-BoParticipant]

If griz resign Battier they sould trade Xavier for a backup center… I’m too high on Sam…

If Battier goes away, Henry could play both SG and SF positions, behind Allen & Mayo, and Gay & Young…

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

No disrespect to you, but this shows how short memorys are..

Yeah, Mayo started playing like his old self towards the end of the year but at the start, he was shooting close to 35% from the field, killing the offensive flow, and couldnt defend..  Henrey on the other hand, was a big, strong, guard that fit perfectly beside Conley and Gay..  One, because he didnt need the ball in his hands to play well; two because he was willing to fight anyone who came a long and loved to defend..

Well, that is what you need when you have a guy like Gay who is a 20 point a night guy, Randolph is 20 a night, Gasol is 10, and Conley is 10..  You need a defender who can hit the open 3 well enough that he cant be doubled off of, and can defend like hell…

Mayo is a good player but he cant play well beside the Gay/Randolph combo.. Put him on a team that needs a scorer, and he will be fine..  But dont ask a guy who is a borderline All-Star to play a rolse as a backup…  That will backfire more often than not..

[ghrghrParticipant]

 ^^ Couldn’t be more right. Mayo needs the ball in his hands to be effective, he played great his first year because he and Gay ran an ISO heavy offense. When Zach arrived and Gasol and Conley started to play better he lost touches and more than that, lost plays ran FOR him. With Gay’s injury, he started to get the ball more, so he became a little more productive.

As much as he is a great player, the grizzlies have too many wings. Even re-signing Battier would be questionable, because with Gay and Young(much worse player than Battier, but much cheaper) and Allen and Mayo/Henry(If Henry shoots well I would start him over Allen, to space the floor for Z-Bo), we would be two deep at both positions. I like Greivis Vasquez as a change of pace PG and Arthur as a pick and pop option, so trading Mayo for a defensive C(so that we can be 2 deep at every position) or some future picks wouldn’t be a disaster.

Henry could be traded too, I don’t know what the coaching staff thinks of him, so if they don’t see potential the Grizz could move him instead of OJ.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Xavier Henry didn’t shoot well.  If he gets his shot back then he will be the kind of player we need.  If not he will just be another wing player who can’t shoot (Battier for most of the postseason, Tony Allen, Sam Young).

OJ played decent defense at times.  He is not a starter on a contender but is a great sixth man who can spot up, create his own shot and handle the ball.  Yes, he was in a MAJOR shooting slump for most of the year but he played a lot better in the playoffs.  No reason why he can’t be like Jason Terry or Jamal Crawford (but a better passer).  I thought he and Greivous really played well coming off the bench together.  They have good chemistry and each one can handle the ball and create shots.  Darrell Arthur is a good scorer/rebounder.  If we can’t sign Shane to a reasonable 1 or 2 year deal then we should move on.  In that case we should play Xavier Henry more.  But, I wouldn’t move OJ just so Xavier Henry can get a lot of minutes.  I think OJ is more proven and we are in basically a WIN NOW mode and Henry might be a couple of years away.  The downside on Henry is his shot is not there yet, and he doesn’t have the size/strength/explosiveness of Sam Young.  

If I were the Grizzlies I would look into trading our second round pick (49) and Xavier Henry to the Bulls for the 28th pick and their 2nd round pick (44). 

[Lotto StudParticipant]

It’s not that I dislike Henry……I just don’t see where he will fit in next season with Allen & Mayo at the 2 Gay, Young, Battier at the 3. 

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