The most significant NBA workout to date took place Saturday in Chicago at Tim Grover's A.T.T.A.C.K. Athletics Center.

Miami Heat president Pat Riley, general manager Randy Pfund and other Miami staff were there for a private workout with O.J. Mayo -- the first NBA team workout for Mayo.

Mayo has been in Chicago for weeks, working out with Grover and Heat star Dwyane Wade. Over the course of the past few weeks, Wade and Mayo have become fast friends.

Friday night, the Heat staff took Mayo out for dinner in Chicago. The next morning, Mayo squared off against Western Kentucky's Tyrone Brazelton for more than an hour.

Grover ran the workout, which began with a number of drills followed by several one-on-one games between Mayo and Brazelton. It ended with the Heat asking Grover to run a series of alley-oop plays for Mayo, apparently to allow the Miami contingent to gauge his athleticism.

According to sources inside the gym, Mayo had an excellent workout. He shot the ball very well (around 70 percent, according to one observer) and dominated Brazelton in the one-on-one workout. He also had a few spectacular dunks in the alley-oop session.

The workout only solidifies our report, on the night of the draft lottery, that the Heat would seriously consider taking Mayo instead of Michael Beasley if Derrick Rose were not on the board.

According to sources close to the Heat, some members of the Miami front office think Mayo is one of the most NBA-ready players in the draft and would make an excellent complement to Wade in the backcourt. The budding relationship between Mayo and Wade doesn't hurt things.

"I've gotten an opportunity to see O.J. and go to lunch and dinner with him, because that's what we do in Chicago, because we're like family," Wade told the Miami Herald. "He's a good kid. He's shocked me. He's been getting hype since the 6th grade. So I'm thinking he's going to have the big head and have a big posse with him. But he doesn't roll like that. And I like to see that.

"I think the reason (Mayo has) crept up in it is he's a combination of a lot of different things, and he can help your program right away. So, I think it's a three-man race. And you're talking about Rose, Beasley and O.J."

If the Heat decide they prefer Mayo to Beasley, the big question will be what to do at draft time. The most obvious choice is to take Mayo with the No. 2 pick, but given how much Beasley is wanted, the Heat should be able to get some serious offers for the No. 2 pick.

Both the Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 3) and the Seattle SuperSonics (No. 4) would love to move up to No. 2. But sources say neither the Wolves nor the Sonics have anything the Heat really covet, assuming the teams wouldn't include Kevin Durant, Al Jefferson or Jeff Green in a deal.

The Memphis Grizzlies are the most obvious trade partner. As noted last week, an offer of the No. 5 pick, Mike Miller and Kyle Lowry in exchange for the No. 2 pick would be very tempting to the Heat. They also likely could pawn off Mark Blount as part of the deal.

But there's no guarantee Mayo would be available at No. 5. While neither the Wolves nor the Sonics seem keyed into Mayo at the moment, they have been talking to other teams about trading their picks. To name just two teams, the Knicks and the Clippers would love to move up in the draft to get Mayo.

If the Heat could land both Miller and Lowry for the No. 2 pick, could they settle for someone besides Mayo? If Lowry went to Miami to run the point, the Heat could focus on getting a big man like Kevin Love, Brook Lopez or Anthony Randolph.

Whatever might happen, don't expect it to happen quickly. Before the Heat do anything, they have to be sure of what the Bulls are going to do. If Rose is going to be on the board at No. 2, the Heat will just wait and take him.

In fact, after the workout with Mayo, the Heat hopped on a plane to L.A. to go through the same routine with Rose at a private workout. The Heat will do something similar with Beasley as well, although nothing has been announced.

You can expect all three to be invited to Miami closer to the draft for another round of workouts and interviews.

Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by tkf:

wow.. the heat at this point, seems to hold the key to most of the movement in the draft top spots...

I said this a while ago and if you take a look at our Mock Draft Board TKF I had pick 2 and look who I selected if you haven't already.

[Edited by - TrueBlue on 06-11-2008 11:07 AM]