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Id figure id ask you since your a scout and all but im a wolves fan and the two guys i want our rose and beasley. I love both of their games but really love beasley's. Since we need big al at the 4 do you think Beasley can play the 3? The man is a beast on the floor but people question his attitude and defense. Now i like his fierce competitive attitude, he would bring a swagger to the twolves. He's only 18 so his defense has time to improve with coaching.

I think Beasley is a 3 in the league... i've watched him play a lot and he reminds me a lot of Carmelo Anthony... his defensive is pathetic either way

The biggest part of projecting a player's position to me is what position you can expect him to guard in the NBA. Offensively you can do whatever you want with a guy--there are no rules there, you are only restricted by your coach's own creativity, but defensively you have to take the hand you're dealt and match up with the opposing team.

With that said, I think Beasley is a 4 in the NBA. I don't think he can stay in front of NBA small forwards, and I think that playing him away from the basket on both ends of the floor mitigates one of his biggest strengths as a basketball player-- rebounding. I think that guarding 4's he can at least rely on his strength, length and athleticism to make up for his obvious deficiencies in the fundamentals department closer to the rim. Guarding less skilled players will also make things easier.

In the NBA there is so much more spacing on the floor than there is in college, because of the extended 3-point line, so you're almost on an island out there and if you can't be trusted to stay in front of your guy-- opposing teams are going to isolate you one on one every single time down the floor. And you are going to lose. That's what the league is all about--exploiting mismatches.

That's just my opinion, though.

JonathanG wrote:With that said, I think Beasley is a 4 in the NBA. I don't think he can stay in front of NBA small forwards, and I think that playing him away from the basket on both ends of the floor mitigates one of his biggest strengths as a basketball player-- rebounding. I think that guarding 4's he can at least rely on his strength, length and athleticism to make up for his obvious deficiencies in the fundamentals department closer to the rim. Guarding less skilled players will also make things easier.

I think you could have said those exact things about Durant; actually I'd still say those things about Durant, inparticularly about rebounding; my point being that though Beasley and Durant are more PF than wing, its probably better to draft them and play the better player at wing then it is to default to Al Horford or Derrick Rose just because they fit the roster better.

PS I'm responding to the original poster too as you obviously never inferred that the Wolves should pass on Beasley because of position duplication

Its a good point you make. I do think Durant is much closer to being a 3 than Beasley is, but I 100% agree with you that his best NBA position is indeed at the 4. We've been saying this all along too. I really think that the only reason Seattle is playing him at the 2/3 is so they can more easily lose games without looking like they are tanking. One thing to keep in mind is that Beasley has always been played at the 4/5 in his career (he has no strength deficiencies like Durant does here), and he also lacks the same great wingspan that Durant does to help him out making the transition to guarding the wing.

JonathanG wrote:Its a good point you make. I do think Durant is much closer to being a 3 than Beasley is, but I 100% agree with you that his best NBA position is indeed at the 4. We've been saying this all along too. I really think that the only reason Seattle is playing him at the 2/3 is so they can more easily lose games without looking like they are tanking. One thing to keep in mind is that Beasley has always been played at the 4/5 in his career (he has no strength deficiencies like Durant does here), and he also lacks the same great wingspan that Durant does to help him out making the transition to guarding the wing.

I'm curious about how you feel about the 2nd part of devil's post. Is Beasley good enough that you pick him no matter the positional needs of your team?

Not sure about that yet. Get back to me in April and I'll have a better opinion on that probably. I'm not sure that things aren't going to be somewhat different for him in the Big 12 slate. He's only really faced 4 legit teams up until now (with only one of them having a real frontcourt to challenge him)--mixed in with a ton of cupcakes (of the low major/Division II variety) that may have inflated his stats drastically.

There are a lot more concerns about Beasley than just his defense, though. The main one being-- is he the kind of personality you want to build your franchise around? I'm not sure about that right now. We'll have a lot more answers in a few months I bet.

Shane, I would draft Jordan - if I was Minny. You need a defensive talent to keep Jefferson at the PF. He's a real nice fit. Rose would be my second choice. If he improves a lot on his jump shot, there's nothing he can't do. And I'm not sold that Foye is really a PG. But he would be 2 straight 1sts that don't shoot well (Brewer). You don't want Beasley's attitude and demeaner on a young team, imo.

JonathanG wrote:There are a lot more concerns about Beasley than just his defense, though. The main one being-- is he the kind of personality you want to build your franchise around? I'm not sure about that right now. We'll have a lot more answers in a few months I bet.

He's the kind of guy who, if I played with, I'd like to punch in the throat.

I hope he ends up on an NBA team with some real seasoned vets on it who can snap him out of his punk attitude.

Mayo looks like Grant Hill compared to Beasley IMO.

I like this thread.

Beasley looks to small to be a Power Forwards effectively. I've seen 6'10 stiffs beat him in the post and seem to tower over him

I really agree with one of Jon's first points, putting him at 3 limited one of his most attractive abilities in the NBA and that is his rebounding, defensively if he comes into the NBA with liabilities they are gonna be exposed regardless what forward spot you put him at, just in different ways.

Jon.

You are the wolves with the 1st pick. Who do you take and why.

I agree with Jon's point about Beasley. Its been a long time since I have seen a prospect with as bad a body language as he has. JR Smith, Rashad Mccants are a few, but I don't think they are anyway near immaturity I have seen from Beasley. You can just tell he has some really bad influences around him (He was a Huggins recruit afterall.)

Fully agree with Jon about Beasley being a 4. He looks to be a legit 6'9"+ to me, and looks to have a frame that he can add weight to. And I agree with him about Durant and drawing away from one of his best attributes, too.

There are a lot more concerns about Beasley than just his defense, though. The main one being-- is he the kind of personality you want to build your franchise around? I'm not sure about that right now. We'll have a lot more answers in a few months I bet.

I also agree with this. More than once I have seen Beasley work for position in the post, not get an entry pass, then get in a players ear the next time out. On TV it's impossible to know what he's saying (it could have been encouraging words, I guess), but it definitely raises a red flag for me.

UGA Hayes wrote:I agree with Jon's point about Beasley. Its been a long time since I have seen a prospect with as bad a body language as he has. JR Smith, Rashad Mccants are a few, but I don't think they are anyway near immaturity I have seen from Beasley. You can just tell he has some really bad influences around him (He was a Huggins recruit afterall.)

Having been a mccants fan since he was in the top3 of his class in high school, with UNC and with the wolves drafting him I can honestly say that McCants attitude is not an issue. He does get moody sometimes, but he tends to elevate his play when that happens. He truly wants to be good and wants to be "the guy" so you never doubt his attitude for desire. WHere as Beasley seems to be different. I would not put them in the same boat.

Beasley looks like a Randolph clone in certain areas. Great offensive talent, undersized but quick, moody on the court. He's better defensively, as in, he doesn't ever lose sight of the ball like Randolph seems to at least twice a quarter.

If a team like Detroit deals Amir Johnson and tries to move up for him, then he could flourish in that type of system. Miami, basketball wise, would be a great spot for him, but off the court could be an issue.

The kid's a Top 5 pick because of his talent. It just depends on whoever drafts him handles his attitude.

Beasley will never play small forward. Rose would be a better option for Minnesota, but it depends on how the Lottery shakes up. If they draft at 4, they'd be better off with a kid like DeAndre Jordan. Anything higher and they take Rose or Mayo and pair him with Randy Foye.

revprodeji wrote:Jon.

You are the wolves with the 1st pick. Who do you take and why.

Let's see how Rose looks in the tournament.

The one thing that I've seen from Beasley that makes him infinitely more valuable to a team than Randolph has been his passing ability. He hasn't racked up the assists, but I've seen at least adequate skills from him in that regard. A post player who commands double teams but doesn't pass well out of them is really a waste of a rare skillset IMO.

JonathanG wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Let's see how Rose looks in the tournament.

Shad (mccants) is very improved this year, and Brewer was our pick last year. I know your profile of Foye was more negative then others (Mike James BCS?) But If Foye comes back and at the min repeats what he did the final month of last season (15.5ppg, 4ast, 4 reb and a stl) do you still take Rose over a guy like Jordan?