NBA Draft: Congrats Beasley you just made yourself a #2 pick

[DubaLakers]

The Lakers got nothing going on in the draft (We got Pau ), but the NBA Draft still intrigues me...

IMO I wouldn't throw my money at Beasley *cough* idiot *cough*. Something about him just isn't right *cough* moron *cough*. Will he give max effort? Will he play D? Will he party too much? Will he put in the work, or settle on his gifts? He reminds me of Melo who's body is made of pudding, doesn't lift ,and doesn't play D, yet is incredibly gifted. I'd take Mayo or Love before I'd mess with Beasley...

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... _workouts/

If you don't want to read the article here are some stunning quotes...

One question swirled around Michael Beasley on the final morning of the NBA's predraft camp. Why wasn't he taking part in workout drills?..."My team's not here yet," Beasley said. "I came early. I got on the wrong bus."...

"I want to bench press like just half a pound, just get it barely over my chest," Beasley said, again displaying the dry humor that he's shown often over his two days of appearances at the predraft camp. "Should I have goals? I don't really know."

"I'm good," Beasley said. "What do I've got to be nervous about?"

Uggh! I think the best big man in the entire draft, the surefire slam dunk BIG pick, is Kevin Love. The smartest player I can remember at the college level. Just a joy to watch play. He doesn't make mistakes, so fundementally sound. He makes up for his athletisism with 10's accross the board everywhere else. Has incredible charisma, will be a beloved teamate, and fan favorite. Plus the dude works, he's already lost 20 lbs. DO WORK!

I think it's funny that Eric Gordon name is Eric Gordan, to me it seems he has the same fate as Ben Gordon. Stuck at SG undersized, no man's land. Although I always thought Ben should be a great PG on someones team. I also think Johnny Pax is making mistakes, and if he doesn't step up this offseason he's gonna get canned; he has all the parts to be one of the best franchises in the NBA.

Other players of note OJ Mayo, DJ Augustin, Brandon Rush, Brooke Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Joe Alexander (Has Wally Scissorhands white man playing in a black games anger, but he's a gifted player).

I haven't seen the Euro's play, Jarred out of Arizona, or LSU's Randolph, or else I'd do a top 10.

Lakers in 4! Nitey Nite Celtics!

[RJM]

Pax should have gotten canned a long time ago. How the hell do you keep choosing guards in the draft when the clear need is a post presence!? I hope they pick Beasley, cause Rose would be amazing in Miami.

[slifersd]

Paxson should start running for the hills if he picks the wrong guy this time around. A lot of Bulls fans are still pissed off about his Tyrus Thomas over LaMarcus Aldridge pick. If he picks Beasley over Rose and Rose turns out to be the better pro, he better start running for the hills because they are gonna want to kill him.

[islander009]

Pax needs a lost post threat, their guard rotation is decent and their wings are great but that is it, there isnt a 4 or 5 near by. The obvious pick is Beasley, Home town hero or not, you still have that massive contract of hinrich and the obvious unpaid options of deng and gordon. I think if they are both resigned either pick up beasley or draft rose and trade hinrich and filler to the bulls for marion. well that would be a pipe but its an option if riley really wants to change the lineup and have the traditional explosive guard and low post threat.

in the offseason would anybody on here consider trading say a vlad or a luke for a first round pick? say with Mil? since they are looking for a 3. dont know but its just an option. we are a young team already and getting younger isnt part of the plan but neither is getting all veterans. we need someone to be there with Bynum 10 years from now.

[BlackMamba12]

They have to go after Beasley

[kobela32]

The Chicago Bulls, must take Derrick Rose over Micheal Beasley. But they won't and I'm certian they will regret it later. D Rose has much more potential to be unbelievably great. No I know the Bulls desperately need front court help, but an easy way to accomplish that is a trade. The back court already has Kirk Hinrich, Chris Duhon, Ben Gordon, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown, Demetris Nichols, and JamesOn Curry. The Bulls could definitely package together a deal with some of there backcourt players and picks for a decent big man or two. And from a business aspect, D Rose is from Chi Town and would definitely help the fan base and fill up the seats, as he would easily be a "hometown hero" and a definate fan favorite.

[SashAlex]

I like more Rose ! He'll be great in a couple of years.

[Hawaii]

I'd love to see Rose with the Heat, but I do enjoy it when guys play for their hometown team.

[Gomes3PC]

I'd trade Hinrich and pick up a post player then draft Rose. If you can't trade Hinrich, still take Rose. He's just got that 'it' factor. Beasley has always seemed totally nonchalant about basketball to me. He does it more business-like. If I am picking between two guys of near-equal talent, I take the guy who loves the game more. You pick the BPA, not need, when you have the #1 pick. If you have that pick, you likely have a long road to recovery, so just take the best guy, bar none.

A fast break, attacking, matchup nightmare like Rose will make athletic bigs like Deng and Thomas play much better by getting easy looks. Put in a Memphis Tigers-like offense where you constantly are moving and fastbreaking and that athletic Bulls team can fly up and down the court for points a la the Hornets.

Beasley, IMO, is the next Derrick Coleman. Unbelievably talented, but ultimately doesn't care enough.

[Sedale Threatt]

That's a great analogy. Take the very best players in history -- Jordan, Magic, Bird, Russell, Kareem, Wilt, etc. -- and they were all just as competitive, if not more so, as they were talented. Those intangible qualities are usually the difference between goodness and greatness, and it's rare to find them in supremely talented players.

No question Beasley has the skills. But does he have the heart and the desire to be a championship-caliber franchise player? I have huge doubts. I covered Beasley in a youth international tournament in San Antonio after his junior year, before he really blew up, and what you saw then is what you see now -- an immensely talented kid who obviously doesn't give max effort.

It doesn't surprise me that there are rumors floating around that Riley might look to trade the No. 2 pick if he can't have Rose. He obviously has his doubts or there's no way he'd think of passing up a prospect like that.

[Gomes3PC]

Beasley has literally unlimited upside. He is a better scorer and rebounder than Durant, who everyone thinks has superduperstar potential. He has the length and body to develop into a very good, if not necessarily All NBA defender. But he just doesn't care. You can see it in his eyes and in his attitude on the court. He doesn't make his teammates better the way Rose did this year, nor does he put the effort in on defense like he could. He should've dominated on defense the way he did on offense. Instead, his coach was doing offense/defense substitutions in the FIRST HALF of games this year so he wouldn't get into foul trouble because he is so lazy on that end.

It's really a shame, because he could become a player really like almost no one else. He's a tweener IMO between a 3 and 4 but his length and absurd athleticism would make that tweener size a strength, not a weakness, in that he would be took quick for forwards and to beastly for wings. I still think he will be a force on offense, likely pulling down 24 and 12 in his prime, if not more, but he will never be a guy like Garnett or Duncan who can make all his teammates better with vision and patience in the post.

[Sedale Threatt]

I agree completely.

The thing that stood out to me when I saw him was that, already at 17, he had a gorgeous jump shot in addition to being able to dunk with his shoulders parallel to the rim. He was playing next to future lottery picks like Spencer Hawes and Jarryd Bayless and a few high-level prospects from Europe and he made them all look like total chumps.

But he just seemed to drift. Hawes, for example, was very limited physically but was fabulous in terms of concentration, intensity, fundamentals, listening to his coaches. Beasley clearly didn't have the same drive. I wrote it off because of his youth, but everything I've read about him since backs up what I saw.

I'm hoping we and everybody else are wrong, because you're dead on when you say he could become a player like no one else. As a fan of the game, I'd hate to see such an immense talent fail to reach his full potential. On the bright side, the underachievers do make you appreciate guys like Mike and Magic and Bird and Kobe who squeezed everything out of their ability that they possibly could.

[ahwi_quacoe]

What are you people talking about ?!!?!! This man was pulling down 20 + rebounds in games . You don't do that when you don't care. Don't hate on him because he is naturally talented or he doesn't have a Sammy Davis lick the media's balls attitude. People just love to hate on a confident black male who knows that he is good and doesn't have to prove it to anybody. Yes , pick Love over him . Beasley will get his in the NBA. We'll see how long it takes before Love becomes the next Lafrentz , Gugliotta, or Keith Van Horn . If there are 2 black guys , the media always has to make one out to be a bad , hoodlum who is lazy and disrespectful and make the other out to be the well raised , respectful non-threatening one. A lot of BS ..........................

[Slava]

What are you people talking about ?!!?!! This man was pulling down 20 + rebounds in games . You don't do that when you don't care. Don't hate on him because he is naturally talented or he doesn't have a Sammy Davis lick the media's balls attitude. People just love to hate on a confident black male who knows that he is good and doesn't have to prove it to anybody. Yes , pick Love over him . Beasley will get his in the NBA. We'll see how long it takes before Love becomes the next Lafrentz , Gugliotta, or Keith Van Horn . If there are 2 black guys , the media always has to make one out to be a bad , hoodlum who is lazy and disrespectful and make the other out to be the well raised , respectful non-threatening one. A lot of BS ..........................

1. We don't need to make any decision as we don't have a draft choice to think about.

2. We know more about confident superstars than any other team does. (Kobe Bryant FTW!)

3. Naturally gifted? Very few even come close to our best player in this category and we know and respect talent.

4. The debate was between Beasley and Rose. Not sure where Love/Van Horn/Laftrentz come into the picture.

[Slava]

BTW for the topic on hand, Beasley is the more superior player from what I've seen of him in college. He can score at will and his rebounding and hustle is rare amongst talent of his caliber and add to that his versatility and size, its very hard to look past him for the #1 pick. IMO he's a better propsepct than Melo and Durant.

[ahwi_quacoe]

IMO I wouldn't throw my money at Beasley *cough* idiot *cough*. Something about him just isn't right *cough* moron *cough*. Will he give max effort? Will he play D? Will he party too much? Will he put in the work, or settle on his gifts? He reminds me of Melo who's body is made of pudding, doesn't lift ,and doesn't play D, yet is incredibly gifted. I'd take Mayo or Love before I'd mess with Beasley...


If you don't want to read the article here are some stunning quotes...

One question swirled around Michael Beasley on the final morning of the NBA's predraft camp. Why wasn't he taking part in workout drills?..."My team's not here yet," Beasley said. "I came early. I got on the wrong bus."...

"I want to bench press like just half a pound, just get it barely over my chest," Beasley said, again displaying the dry humor that he's shown often over his two days of appearances at the predraft camp. "Should I have goals? I don't really know."

"I'm good," Beasley said. "What do I've got to be nervous about?"

Uggh! I think the best big man in the entire draft, the surefire slam dunk BIG pick, is Kevin Love. The smartest player I can remember at the college level. Just a joy to watch play. He doesn't make mistakes, so fundementally sound. He makes up for his athletisism with 10's accross the board everywhere else. Has incredible charisma, will be a beloved teamate, and fan favorite. Plus the dude works, he's already lost 20 lbs. DO WORK!

This is what my post was in reference to . You must not have read his entire post . He said he would take LOve over Beasley

[Chubby Chaser]

It's been rumored that Kevin Love is moving up in the draft. So far up that I heard on ESPN that the wolves are thinking of him instead of lopez. I'm a big UCLA fan, but this would just be moronic. Kevin love is a decent college player, but his game will not translate well in the NBA. His game reminds me of Luke Walton. At best he's Keith Van Horn. He's a 3/4 tweener, but too undersized for the PF position and too slow for the three. He has a decent post game and can also step back and shoot the ball. But I think teams will be really disappointed if they pass on a legit 7 footer like lopez and draft love.

Beasley's legit.

[Slava]

-= original quote snipped =-



This is what my post was in reference to . You must not have read his entire post . He said he would take LOve over Beasley

Ah! Thats over reacting a bit ofcourse. No way Kevin Love goes in the top 5.

[theFRANCHISE]

was paxson the same guy that traded elton brand for tyson chandler?

[Sedale Threatt]

What are you people talking about ?!!?!! This man was pulling down 20 + rebounds in games . You don't do that when you don't care. Don't hate on him because he is naturally talented or he doesn't have a Sammy Davis lick the media's balls attitude. People just love to hate on a confident black male who knows that he is good and doesn't have to prove it to anybody. Yes , pick Love over him . Beasley will get his in the NBA. We'll see how long it takes before Love becomes the next Lafrentz , Gugliotta, or Keith Van Horn . If there are 2 black guys , the media always has to make one out to be a bad , hoodlum who is lazy and disrespectful and make the other out to be the well raised , respectful non-threatening one. A lot of BS ..........................

Why do we always have to play the BS race card? Maybe they're just calling it like they see it. I saw this kid up close and personal for a full week two summers ago, before he blew up and before I'd ever heard of him, and I had two impressions:

1. He's got all the talent in the world.
2. He is incredibly immature and lackadaisacal.

You read about some of the crap this kid did in high school -- for example, vandalizing his own school, even after he'd been threatened with expulsion -- then you see some of the comments he makes, and I think it's entirely fair to question if he has the drive to be a champion.

Talent alone isn't going to do it. Nobody in the history of the NBA has achieved the things this kid is capable of achieving on talent alone. Guys like Jordan, Magic, Kareem, Hakeem, Wilt, Russell, Kobe (all black, by the way) were incredible athletes, but what put them over the top was they cared immensely about winning.

Does Mike Beasley have the same drive? As a fan of the game, I surely hope so. This kid has the potential to win multiple MVPs and redefine his position. But take that weak sauce "trying to keep a black man down" garbage somewhere else. There are enough questions about his attitude and personality there that any objective person can and would acknowledge them.