2008 draft picks O.J. Mayo and Darrell Arthur will join Mike Conley and Javaris Crittenton on the Memphis Grizzlies summer league team in Las Vegas from July 11th to the 16th. Mayo will be the highest selected draft pick participating in the Vegas summer league. The Grizzlies will play in 5 games, which will be televised on NBA.com or NBATV.

The Wolves have reached an agreement in principle with the Memphis Grizzlies that will send the draft rights of O.J. Mayo, Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker and Greg Buckner to the Grizzlies in return for the draft rights to Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins.

O.J. Mayo may not be the first pick in tonight’s draft but he is the first to have a shoe deal. Mayo has signed a four-year deal with Nike according to Maverick Carter, his marketing agent. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mayo will be included in Nike’s advertising campaigns and he’ll wear a customized shoe that could be released in the market he plays in. Other shoes companies were offering more money if he was drafted into a bigger market but Nike did not care what market he was in.

Looks like we’ll never get a chance to buy this shirt designed by Undrcrwn in collaboration with Adidas.

With the draft this Thursday, O.J. Mayo will finally be on a NBA team. But which one will it be? Rumors have him going anywhere from #2 to #7 with all likelihood to be drafted #3.

So which team would you like to see Mayo on?

According to Chad Ford of ESPN:

Mayo’s fundamentals really showed here. He looked as smooth and as comfortable as any of the prospects in the gym. His shot was falling from everywhere, and he showed great poise.

It was interesting to watch one front-office team — from the Heat — zero in on Mayo. Many times, NBA executives and scouts spend as much time talking as they do watching the action. When Mayo was on the floor, he had the undivided attention of Pat Riley and GM Randy Pfund.

O.J. Mayo denied allegations that he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts before and during the one season he played basketball for USC and said he would cooperate with the NCAA and PAC 10.

“My family hasn’t accepted anything, so I’m just waiting for the NCAA to do what they have to do to prove that I haven’t done anything wrong.”

A former associate of USC freshman guard O.J. Mayo claims the basketball star received thousands of dollars in cash and other gifts from an event promoter over the past four years that would violate NCAA rules, ESPN reported Sunday.

Louis Johnson told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” that Rodney Guillory, a Los Angeles-based event promoter, gave Mayo about $30,000 and other benefits while he attended high school and during his sole season at USC. Mayo has decided to forgo his sophomore year and enter the NBA draft.

Guillory received monthly payments from Northern California sports agency Bill Duffy Associates, the network reported.

Mayo signed with the same agency last month shortly after declaring that he would enter the June 26 draft, where he is expected to be a lottery pick.

Phone messages left Sunday for Bill Duffy Associates and at a home number listed in Guillory’s name were not immediately returned.

Johnson said the agency provided Guillory with about $200,000 before Mayo arrived at USC. Guillory used most of the money to support his own lifestyle but also gave a portion of it to Mayo, Johnson told ESPN. Mayo then entered into a verbal agreement that allowed the agency to represent him when he turned pro, Johnson added.

Giving college athletes money or other gifts violates NCAA policy.

“I will not allow these allegations to become a distraction to me and my family,” Mayo said in a statement to ESPN. “I have not engaged in any wrongdoing.”

Mayo got into some minor trouble with the NCAA earlier this year after he accepted free tickets from Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony to an NBA game. Mayo didn’t miss any games but had to contribute $460 — the total value of the two tickets — to a charitable organization.

USC said in a statement that NCAA and Pac-10 officials have looked into Mayo’s status “before and during his enrollment at USC, and did not identify any amateurism violations.”

Johnson said he doesn’t believe USC officials knew Guillory provided cash and other benefits to Mayo. However, he claims some USC coaches had regular contact with Guillory.

Johnson, who claims he didn’t get paid, also gave ESPN receipts and invoices for many of the purchases.

USC freshman guard O.J. Mayo will declare for the NBA draft and will hire an agent soon, a school spokesperson said.

Mayo is projected in the top 10 in the NBA lottery. Mayo led the Trojans in scoring with 20.7 points a game, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game and helped lead the Trojans to a 21-12 overall record.