NBA Draft 2008: Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose?
May 19th, 2008 – Dr. Anklesnap
Tomorrow is the NBA draft lottery and although we are in the middle of an exciting NBA playoff run with our final four teams about to kick off the Conference Finals, the buzz is starting to mount around the league on how the ping pong balls will bounce. Who will get the number one pick? Will the 250 out of 1000 chance the Miami Heat have in the 2008 NBA draft to get the number one pick, come through for them to instantly increase their fortunes? Who will be the number one pick, Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley or Memphis point guard Derrick Rose? While tomorrow night two of those three questions will be answered, unfortunately we will have to wait until June 26th in New York for the answer to the third.
The Hoop Doctors have spent a lot of time debating the potential picks from this years draft pool. While there has been much agreement on who will be the top 5 or 6 picks in the draft, there have been lots of heated arguments about who will go number one. A couple of the Hoop Doctors believe teams should draft for talent regardless of their roster needs, as this league is one that is often dominated by the all-stars. And the other Hoop Doctors believe teams should fill their gaps by drafting the best available player for the position where they are the weakest to make their team more well-rounded.
What do you think is the smart move for a franchise with the top pick in the NBA draft?
Last week a source with knowledge of which way the Heat are leaning said if they get the first pick they probably will take Derrick Rose, though Heat officials continue to caution the public that there is no decision yet. Although some Rose detractors are concerned with his perimeter shooting, almost all scouts would agree that at 6’3” tall Derrick Roses’ size for a point guard is a huge plus. The Beasley detractors on the other hand are concerned that at 6’9” tall he may fall into the fate of many highly touted college power forwards, and be faced with NBA struggles once he is playing against players of his size and strength on a nightly basis.
After discussing the draft with some contacts in the scouting world, and debating the candidates with anyone who wants to chat about how the bounce of the ping pong balls can change the fortunes and direction of a franchise, I wanted to weigh in formally. Here are my choices for the top ten draft picks based on the current team odds of getting a particular pick from their regular season records.
Dr. Anklesnap’s Top 10 NBA Draft 2008 Candidates:
1. Miami Heat
Who: Derrick Rose
Stats: PG, 6’3”, 190lbs, 19yrs
School: Memphis
2. Seattle Supersonics
Who: Michael Beasley
Stats: PF, 6’9”, 235lbs, 19yrs
School: Kansas State
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
Who: O.J. Mayo
Stats: PG, 6’5”, 199lbs, 20yrs
School: USC
4. Memphis Grizzlies
Who: Brook Lopez
Stats: C, 7’0”, 260lbs, 20yrs
School: Stanford
5. New York Knicks
Who: Jerryd Bayless
Stats: G, 6’3”, 199lbs, 19yrs
School: Arizona
6. Los Angeles Clippers
Who: Danilo Gallinari
Stats: SF, 6’9”, 209lbs, 19yrs
School: International
7. Milwaukee Bucks
Who: Eric Gordon
Stats: SG, 6’3”, 215lbs, 19yrs
School: Indiana
8. Charlotte Bobcats
Who: Kevin Love
Stats: C, 6’9”, 255, 19yrs
School: UCLA
9.Chicago Bulls
Who: DeAndre Jordan
Stats: C, 7’0”, 260lbs, 19yrs
School: Texas A&M
10. New Jersey Nets
Who: D.J. Augustin
Stats: PG, 5’11”, 175lbs, 20yrs
School: Texas
So there you have it, those are my votes. Now if you were an NBA GM who would you be lining up to take with the top picks in the draft this year?
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May 20th, 2008 at 10:05 am
go rose go!!
May 20th, 2008 at 11:46 am
I think you gotta go with Derrick Rose if you are the Miami Heat. Point guards are starting to dominate the league on the good teams. Look at Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Nash, JKidd, Tony Parker, Big Shot Billups.
Without a big time point guard the future would be bleak for dwade and the heat.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:58 am
These decisions can flip flop back and forth numerous times before the final decision is made on June 26th. An example of this I just realized, after i’ve received numerous emails since writing this post some even from those intimately involved with scouting that say Center Brook Lopez out of Stanford is also now in the mix for one of the top 3 spots.
At first I considered this a two horse race between Rose and Beasley, but many reports now are starting to include Lopez as a possible candidate for a top three pick, possibly even first or second, depending on how the ping pong balls bounce today.
Those same discussions have been saying that Mayo’s position may drop come draft day to below the Top 5 mark.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Lopez will be a big slow stiff in the fast and athletic NBA.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Haha, Mike. Everyone gets seduced by size. Let’s take a look at what another Pac-10 7-footer is up to. Spencer Hawes, anyone?
May 20th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Don’t get me wrong i’m not going to compare Tim Duncan to Lopez in any way. Aside from to say, as fast and athletic the NBA is now, sometimes in the right environment on the right team, a big slow center may be part of the game plan and effective.
Spurs are now in the conference finals once again. Tim Duncan is slow but calculated. And very effective clearly.
Now is there a team out there that thinks Lopez can be a missing piece to what they are trying to do?
May 20th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Daddycane you are touching on a very interesting subject that has come up a lot around here in discussions. That is, what is the value these days of a really good NBA Center. In the mould of a Wilt, Olajuwon, O’Neal, Duncan etc. etc.
Has size and strength been replaced by speed and power in the current NBA style?
May 20th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
bulls rose is a match made by the man himself
May 20th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I still am in shock the Bulls won the lottery and got the #1 pick.
They probably will take Rose. He is even better than a Deron Williams. Might end up as good as even Chris Paul is.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:49 am
i believe that eric gordon is better than rose..he can shoot that basketball.. if eric gordon was on memphis than rose..im sure they have won that title because memphis has more talent than indiana..
May 21st, 2008 at 11:16 am
I don’t think there is any way that Gordon gets picked higher than Rose. That’s wishful thinking.
But, if the Heat decide they absolutely need a point guard and Rose goes to Chicago, they may try and swing a trade on draft day to move down in the draft, so they can pick Eric Gordon and come out ahead with either another pick or a decent player to go along with Gordon.
Most likely the heat take Beasley though and couple him with Marion and Wade for a high flying fast break aerial act.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Don’t know about the other teams but for #10, why would the Nets draft DJA id the already have 24yr. old Devin Harris at PG? The Nets need a big who can score inside and play D in one package.