Lakers Trade Rumors: O.J. Mayo on Los Angeles? Radar?

The Lakers are looking to add some depth to a team that had a disappointing finish to the 2011-12 NBA Season.

Los Angeles was knocked out of the second round in five games by the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was the second straight year that L.A. failed to make it to the Western Conference Finals.

Unless the Lakers win the title, their season is usually considered to be a failure. L.A. is looking to add another impact player or two in order to compete for a championship next year.

L.A. failed to move Pau Gasol for a draft pick and an established NBA player on Thursday night. The Lakers best chance to add an impact player may be to sign a free agent. Since they are over the salary cap, the Lakers will have to hope a player will accept their midlevel exception.

One possible player that could decide to sign with Los Angeles is O.J. Mayo.

According to the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, the Grizzlies will not tender a qualifying offer to Mayo. Memphis would've had to give Mayo $7.4 million, and he is likely to get less than that as a free agent. The Grizzlies are trying to save money because they are approximately $7.7 million away from the luxury-tax threshold.

After four seasons with Memphis, the guard will become a free agent. He was one of the best sixth-men in the league this past season. He averaged 12.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

The Lakers don't currently have a backup shooting guard on the roster. They traded for Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom on draft day, but he'll probably have to play point guard in the pros because of his lack of size.

Mayo would have to accept a little less money to play in Los Angeles, but it wouldn't be a tremendous pay cut. The midlevel exception is worth $20 million over four years, under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement. Mayo might be enticed to take a little less money in order to compete for an NBA title.

The guard out of USC would give the Lakers a lot of help off the bench. He's a good perimeter defender and could even play with Kobe Bryant if the Lakers wanted to go with a smaller lineup.

There's still a chance Mayo could return to the Grizzlies. He's a free agent and can sign with any team he chooses, including Memphis.

Mayo hasn't always been a bench player. He started consistently for the first two years of his career, and averaged 18 points per game. He might decide to go to a team that can guarantee him a starting job.

The Celtics are reportedly interested acquiring the guard. Boston almost traded for Mayo at the trade deadline, and was prepared to deal Brandon Bass for Mayo when it appeared he would re-sign with Memphis.

The Knicks are also reportedly interested in bringing in Mayo.