Trade caps wild night

They passed each other many times on the court in their single season of college basketball. On Thursday, only hours after officially becoming pros, they passed each other again in the night.

USC’s O.J. Mayo, picked third in the NBA draft Thursday by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and UCLA’s Kevin Love, drafted fifth by the Memphis Grizzlies, were swapped as part of an eight-player deal involving the two teams. Mayo, forward Antoine Walker and guards Greg Buckner and Marko Jaric went to Memphis for Love, forward Mike Miller and front-court teammates Jason Collins and Brian Cardinal.

Mayo, in Manhattan for the draft, didn’t learn that the cap he had been wearing when he shook hands with Commissioner David Stern was already a collector’s item until he reached a party at hip-hop mogul Jay Z’s 40/40 club.

Told by friends at the Manhattan nightspot that he had been traded, Mayo said he “thought they were cracking a joke.” A report on a television in the club’s lounge confirmed it was no joke.

“It’s crazy,” Mayo said Friday afternoon. “Everything’s about Minnesota, and then, two hours later, everything is about Memphis. You have to switch your state of mind, but everything’s OK.”

The 6-foot-3 1/4 , 200-pound guard, who became the highest draft pick in USC history, said Timberwolves officials gave him no indication he might not be staying

“It didn’t matter,” Mayo said. “I’m happy to be playing in the NBA.”

Minnesota vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said he didn’t think, at first, there would be anything to tell Mayo. With the Grizzlies refusing to include Miller in the proposed trade, McHale thought the deal was dead. But as the first round ended, Memphis came back to the bargaining table, Miller in hand.

“Actually, no one was more surprised than we were when the deal came back,” McHale said. “We were all sitting around there, looking at each other, saying, ‘Wow, I guess it’s back on.’ There were just too many components in it that fit our needs not to do it.”

And, said Love, the deal fits his own needs.

“I get to work with Kevin McHale, maybe my favorite player of all time,” said the 6-7 3/4 , 255-pound forward, “and get to have a great fan base. I’m happy to be here in [this] city. It’s almost like a colder Portland.”

Love was born and raised in Lake Oswego, Ore.

Mayo has been embroiled in a controversy over allegations he took money and gifts from an agent while in high school and college, allegations he denies. The scandal obviously didn’t deter the Grizzlies.

“We felt it was a chance to take a player who we had ranked as the third-best player in the draft, that I think almost all the league felt was third behind [Michael] Beasley and [Derrick] Rose,” Memphis General Manager Chris Wallace said. “And if anybody has the chance to break in and have the type of impact in the NBA that Rose and Beasley seem certain to have, it would be O. J. Mayo.”

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Times staff writer Ben Bolch and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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steve.springer@latimes.com