NBA Rumors: O.J. Mayo Is the Perfect Ray Allen Replacement for Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics must make O.J. Mayo their No. 1 target in free agency so they can add offense, athleticism and depth to their backcourt.

With Ray Allen's future in Boston uncertain, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge will need to pursue a shooting guard when free agency begins on July 1.

Per A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com on June 28:

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A league source said the C's continue to be enamored with the 6-foot-5 shooting guard, and are considering making another run at him.

The source said no deal is imminent, but it appears the Celtics are willing to offer up Brandon Bass via a sign and trade.

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However, trading for Mayo is no longer needed now that the Memphis Grizzlies have made their decision on which free agents to give qualifying offers to:

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The Memphis Grizzlies will not issue a qualifying offer to O.J. Mayo, which means he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 29, 2012"

As a UFA, Boston can just sign Mayo and not have to part with any players.

Boston might not be a place where Mayo would start, because the Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo tandem has worked well for head coach Doc Rivers, but the Celtics could probably offer Mayo a bigger role than he had with the Grizzlies.

Mayo averaged 38 minutes and 18.5 points scored per game in his rookie season with the Grizzlies and started 81 of 82 regular season games. Since then, he has not been given the same opportunity to develop. Over the past two seasons, Mayo has averaged just 26 minutes per game and made just 17 starts (zero in 2011-12) in the 143 games he played in.

For some reason, Memphis foolishly took minutes away from him. This is the reason why his stats don't jump out at you. The reason for his mediocre scoring numbers is the lack of playing time he's received and not his talent.

On a team like the Celtics that actually need him and that have the best coach in basketball, Mayo would be able to flourish and finally reach his max potential.

Signing Mayo is a no-brainer for Ainge and the Celtics. He's young, has great offensive talent and would address several of the team's weaknesses. Ainge must be aggressive and pursue Mayo in free agency.

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Nicholas Goss is an NBA Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and also covers the Boston Bruins. Follow him on Twitter.