The O.J. Mayo/Kevin Love Trade: Who Got The Better Deal?

After the NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies announced a blockbuster trade involving top five picks O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love.

The Wolves will send Mayo, this year's third overall pick, to Memphis along with forward Antoine Walker and guards Marko Jaric and Greg Buckner.  Memphis will send Love, this year's fifth overall pick, with guard/forward Mike Miller, forward Brian Cardinal and center Jason Collins.

This deal shocked me.  The week before the draft, Kevin Love worked out for the Timberwolves.  They really liked him, but he seemed like a reach at number three overall.  Speculation was that the Wolves may consider trading down and they'd still get the guy they wanted. 

But even I thought it was over when I went to bed Thursday night.  O.J. Mayo would be a Timberwolf, and that wasn't such a bad thing. 

In the end, Memphis may have gotten the better player in the deal when we look back in five years.  But Minnesota may have done better overall. 

They got rid of a player with a bloated contract (Jaric) and unloaded two veterans who hardly played last season (Walker and Buckner).  The Wolves filled a need for a perimeter shooter by getting Mike Miller, and got a couple of front court veterans for depth. 

So here's what the Minnesota Timberwolves' starting five might look like in 2008-09:

PF- Kevin Love
SF- Corey Brewer
C-Al Jefferson
SG-Mike Miller
PG-Randy Foye