OJ Mayo: After Failed Drug Test, Memphis and Their Young Guard Must Part Ways

OJ Mayo has failed a drug test and will be suspended 10 games without pay, according to multiple sources.

The Memphis Grizzlies guard tested positive for the drug dehydroepiandrosterone, which is not a steroid in the bottle, but becomes one after ingestion.

This is not the first time Mayo has found himself in trouble off the court this season. A few weeks ago, him and teammate Tony Allen were involved in an altercation over a card game on the team plane.

Now that Mayo has been relegated to a bench role and not the starting point guard for Memphis, it's time for the young guard to part ways with Memphis.

Mayo, the third pick in the 2008 NBA draft, has started only 15 of 45 games this season, and despite ranking fourth on the team in scoring, he has been dangled as trade bait all season.

The Grizzlies have a surplus of talented young guards, and with their selection of Xavier Henry out of Kansas in the first round of last year's draft, Mayo's days as a starter appeared to be numbered.

With Mayo's rookie contract set to expire soon, the Grizzlies chose to give point guard Mike Conley Jr. a new deal instead.

Even though Conley's contract was expiring sooner than Mayo's, Conley has yet to prove he is a $9 million per season type of player. The choice to give him a new, rich contract was puzzling to many around the league.

With Conley the future point guard, and Henry the apparent shooting guard of choice in Memphis, Mayo would be best served moving on to a place he can have starter's minutes.

Mayo is a great talent, and as good as he is offensively, his defensive talents are nearly as good. He has great hands, and is a good shot-blocker for a guard.

His scoring ability is unquestioned, but he does not require having the ball in his hands for the majority of his team's possessions to be effective.

This means he would fit in nicely with scorers such as Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony, who are all players that need the ball constantly to be successful.

You cannot develop a talent like Mayo playing 20-25 minutes per game—it can't be done. He needs at least 35-40 minutes every night to show his full potential, and become a superstar in this league.

Whether he is traded before the February trade deadline, or after the season, OJ Mayo needs to part ways with the Grizzlies.

Memphis made a great choice in trading for Mayo on draft night, but the plan hasn't worked out, and it's time to mutually move on.

He has already received praise from NBA greats like Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson, now he just needs the platform to blossom, a destination outside of Memphis.

Nicholas Goss is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report, and a Correspondent at the Boston Globe. Follow him on Twitter (@nwgoss)