by Rickhouse on June 24 at 2:37AM
Derrick Rose answers questions, skinny nerd in the corner writes down responses.-------------------
Go read Stompy below on the Sox and Cubs, then head back up here.
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As we inch closer to Thursday’s draft, and Bulls continue to be so tight-lipped, I’m getting a little worried that (gulp) Beasley may be the pick. I still don’t think it will happen, but I’d sort of like to hear Pax at least give some indication that Derrick Rose will take his rightful place atop the Chicago basketball landscape for the next 15 years.
While we haven’t heard anything out of Bulls camp, a lot of the national guys are tearing apart Beasley, and much of it is kind of ridiculous. On Chad Ford’s latest podcast, David Thorpe uttered this nonsense:
"There is no clear second guy like there was last year in this draft. It's very muddled after Rose.”
Now I’m the biggest Rose backer of all-time, but give me a break Mr. David Thorpe. Beasley is an absolute monster scorer, every bit as deadly as Kevin Durant was last year. Thorpe’s main knock against Beasley is his character, but, honestly, I kind of like what I’ve heard from Beasley so far. Here’s the money quote that got everyone riled up:
"I just turned 19 years old in January," Beasley said. "How mature do you want me to be? I’m still a kid. I’m not 20 yet. I’m not legal. I can vote, but that’s about it. On the basketball side of things, I’m 30 years old. Off the court, I don’t know how old y’all want me to be. Do you want me to act 25? 30? 40?. I’m 19. I’m a kid. I’m going to live my life. I’m going to mess up. I don’t know as much as you do or him. I’m learning day by day. I hear a lot about character issues. But I’ve yet to hear what those character issues are. Until I hear somebody tell me, I don’t feel the need to change."
How many 19-year olds are that self aware? If anything, I think Beasley sounds pretty mature here, so I don’t get all the noise about how he’s a huge character concern. He had some minor incidents in high school- and he went to six of them in four years- but he’s never been arrested and seemed like a model citizen at KSU last year. Whatever…if the Heat don’t want him a) they are morons, b) that’s there problem, not ours.
I’m going to root for Beasley regardless when he gets into the league, I just hope he’s not a Bull (unless they get both players, a scenario I believe is so far fetched I won’t even write about it. Although my dad thinks it’s going to happen so I suppose that’s somewhat ‘newsworthy’. It’s cute how he doesn’t realized Paxson sucks yet). I said a little while ago that I’d be done with the franchise if they passed on Rose, and though that’s totally a lie, I would be pretty upset.
Not that I need to convince anyone here, but as I wrote right after the Bulls somehow won the lotto on that magical spring evening, Rose has to be the pick. Finding centers and point guards is so much tougher than finding big time scorers, which, sure, Beasley is. The only way you take a swing man over a point guard or center is if you believe they can be as good as Kobe, LeBron, Wade, ect. Beasley is a beast, but he'll never be at that level. I feel comfortable saying that.
Because he’s a little shorter than everyone thought, Beasley will probably be a small forward, not a four. It’s laughable when people say he’s the missing low post scorer- the dude is just a pure scorer, plain and simple. Sure he’s got a few post moves, but he won’t score the majority of his points that way in the NBA. He'll probably just bomb a lot of threes. He’s a small forward, and the Bulls already have a pretty good one.
But yeah, point guards are just so valuable, especially ones as good as Rose. Of course you’d rather have Chris Paul or Deron Williams over Carmelo Anthony, right? Rose will be as good or better than those two very, very quickly. He’s just a stud.
Again, though: Pax has to make some deals, yo. No one on the Bulls can score besides for Gordo (who has obvious warts and won’t work with Rose), and Rose isn't going to score much, especially not as a rook. So, John, go trade some guys. Make no one untouchable. Find a two-guard that can put the ball in the hoop. There are a lot of good swing men out there, go get one. A Rose-Gordon or Rose-Hinrich backcourt won’t work, and neither will a Rose-Thabo duo because then they may be the worst offensive team of all-time.
So draft Rose, find a scorer, and you’re set.
Sure am glad that’s settled…
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The only comfort I can take in the silence is that if the Bulls did want to take Beasley, you think they'd leak it so that people would be prepared when the pick was made. Of course, that, in turn, scares me because I am fairly sure Paxson wouldn't be thinking like that at all.
I am right with you on Beasley being like a Rashard Lewis kind of guy, while Rose will be the PG that every wishes they had.