I'm starting to think you take Beasley at No. 1 regardless

[grantpb]

This kid, I mean, he is having a better season than Durant had last year. He makes the game look SOOO easy. He scores 40 points on multiple occasions, shooting well over 50 percent from the field. He can hit the three or go inside.

I don't think the Sonics will land the No. 1 overall pick, but if they do I am starting to think that you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't take this kid. Even if it means trading some players off your current roster to make room for him...

Having Durant and Beasley on the same team would be the most nightmarish scoring combo in the NBA.

Plus, this draft is SUPER deep with point guards, so you can still work some trade magic and try to pick up Collison or DJ Augustin...

[HeavyP]

I agree, I love Jeff Green but if I land the #1 pick I take Beasley and auction off Jeff Green for the best pick or young PG I can get.

[Hiphophead101]

Keep Green - he can still be a good backup.

[HeavyP]

I do think Green would be the ideal backup to a set 3/4. IE Green to backup both the 3 (Durant) and 4 (Beasley). This would mean that both Collison and Wilcox would be available, maybe trading them for the best young PG or pick (to draft one) would be a better course of action.

[TheUrbanZealot]

Beasley is so much better than his peers it's scary...

Why would we have to give up green, to whomever suggested that. Just put Durant at the 2, Green at the 3, and Beasley at the 4. They would be virtually interchangeable!

[chad42]

so i have hated beasley, i think he is ignorant, i think he does not have the desire to be great, but i as i watch the replay although intoxicated i feel like OJ Mayo or Mike Beasley should be a sonic, i dont care which guy. beasley or mayo, i dont care, mayo i think would be fun because he can play 1 and 2 and i think he wants to be great, by the way beasley does not play defense, oj mayo will be lock down 1/2, he can stroke, he cares, hes aa leader, he will allow jeff green to be a defender/distributor, i think we draft mayo/ jordan hill or beasley and trade yp and get collison

Mayo/Ridnour
Durant/Azubuike
Green/Gelebale
Collison/Hill
Petro/ellison

or

Ridnour/Collison
Durant/Azubuike
Green/Gelebale
Beasley/Collison
Petro/Ellison

listening to vitale makes me think beasley is excellent\, f i, lets draft beasley

[Yoshi2kx]

Listen to yourself man.

Mayo our distributor to get others involved?

I Like your optimism but.. c'mon seriously?

[Det the Threat]

I'm still on the Derrick Rose bandwagon and no matter who's still available when we pick, we've got to take him, if he's still available at that spot.

So if we do end up with that #1 pick(which i don't really see happening) then i'd be all for Rose.

Though, i've changed my mind some on Beasley, who i didn't really like before, if we do end up with the #2 pick and if Rose is already gone. First i thought we should just use him to trade down and get Bayless + something extra.

Now i wouldn't mind if we'd take him and look to trade up with that Suns Pick + Wilcox to find some pg help.
Or, we could even use Green and trade him for another high lottery pick, which we then could use for Bayless or Mayo.

So no matte what, Presti's got quite some possibilities around draft time and i expect him to be very active in June.

[asdf1223]

+1 to the Rose bandwagon. He may take a few years to develop(which is natural to any point not named Chris Paul) but he makes much more sense. With Durant and Beasely your going to end up with 2 people who need the ball to be effective. Both would need their touches. The drafting of Green instead of say a Thornton or some other player (who may have a better career than Green) clearly signals the intent of Presti to find players who complement Durant. Nothing against Beasely he has been tearing it up and is clearly the best prospect now in the draft.

[big L]

It's about time Beasely gets some love around here! His offensive game is so damn good, it'd be hard to pass on him, and his defense is underrated. We would have a very interesting line up and tough bench.

Now having said that, I still think Rose is at this level, too. If we have the number one, I still think you take Rose... just by a hair, though.

[Patches Pal]

Based strickly on need, Miami would probably draft a Center or PG. Minnesota needs a Center or Forward. The draft stock of Brook Lopez is going to go up as we approach the draft. Beasley, despite his talent could slide or we could see someone trading down.

Ths Sonics have the toughest schedule the rest of the way and could wind up with the second most ping pong balls in the lottery. Drafting first or second is a good possibility. If I am the Sonics and have the first pick I draft Beasley or Lopez and trade Collison or one of the other forwards for another lottery pick. Then I take PG OJ Mayo with the extra pick.

Then the lineup might be:
PG OJ Mayo
SG Kevin Durant
C Brook Lopez
PF Wilcox
SF Jeff Green

This lineup would strenghten the Center position while preserving the option of moving Durant to SF later when a top SG is identified. Demar DeRozen or Ricky Rubio could be targets in 2009.

[AbdicatedReign]

It's about time Beasely gets some love around here! His offensive game is so damn good, it'd be hard to pass on him, and his defense is underrated. We would have a very interesting line up and tough bench.

Now having said that, I still think Rose is at this level, too. If we have the number one, I still think you take Rose... just by a hair, though.

I've been saying we should take Beasley for months. Beasley, Rose, or bust. That's the motto.


Edit: Ugh. I think I'd shoot myself in a non-fatal location if we took Brook Lopez.

[grantpb]

Brook Lopez is a no-no.

In this draft, we either take Beasley, Rose, Bayless, or trade down.

And just so you guys know, the only, ONLY way Beasley would not get taken number 1 overall is if the Sonics got the first pick and took Rose.

No other team would pass on Beasley at the no. 1 spot. There will be no sliding for Beasley.

[D5150]

yeah, beasley would be tough to pass up if the supes got the # 1 pick. passing on beasley just because you already have durant and green would be like passing on jordan because you already have clyde drexler, oh wait............

[Hiphophead101]

I say we draft a guard if beasley isnt avaliable. That may mean we end up with Batum or Westbrook depending on how far we fall.
Westbrook is a beast! That dude is so explosive I would not mind having him at all!

[sonictecture]

I think this thread is bringing up some excellent questions on how you go about building a team.

I agree that Jeff Green was drafted as a compliment to Durant. Presti had the opportunity to get a potential star and his potential ideal compliment in the same draft and took it. He could have selected another scorer, a player with more, "potential". In the case of Green it can be argued that Presti didn't select the best scorer, which often translates to the best player available.

Presti has been openly questioned for the selection of Green. It takes real courage for a first year GM to bypass offensive players who put up numbers for players who you believe will help your team be competitive quickly and win over time.

Looking at the 2008 draft and the Sonic roster, there is certainly room for another scorer on the roster, a point guard to run the offense and multiple other upgrades.

Let's discuss some of the prospects mentioned, Beasley, Rose, Mayo, Bayless, one or two others and project how each player would add to what we already have.

Start with Beasley.

[D5150]

obviously beasley has a TON of talent. the only real negatives so far are the concerns about his attitude and his willingness to work. could those concerns be overblown? sure. could they be valid? yep. bill simmons i think it was made an interesting comparison (actually a scary one). derrick coleman.

[HeavyP]

+1 to the Rose bandwagon. He may take a few years to develop(which is natural to any point not named Chris Paul) but he makes much more sense. With Durant and Beasely your going to end up with 2 people who need the ball to be effective. Both would need their touches. The drafting of Green instead of say a Thornton or some other player (who may have a better career than Green) clearly signals the intent of Presti to find players who complement Durant. Nothing against Beasely he has been tearing it up and is clearly the best prospect now in the draft.

If you have watched Beasley's last few games you'd know he doesn't need the touches to be effective, he uses his body really well around the post, boxes out and sets killer screens.

[TheUrbanZealot]

Brook Lopez is a no-no.

In this draft, we either take Beasley, Rose, Bayless, or trade down.

And just so you guys know, the only, ONLY way Beasley would not get taken number 1 overall is if the Sonics got the first pick and took Rose.

No other team would pass on Beasley at the no. 1 spot. There will be no sliding for Beasley.

If that's the case, then you trade down. Just smokescreen that you want Beasley and trade down to #2 and take Rose.

I am going to presume Presti has the scruples to not take an unathletic big man like Lopez. Better yet, I will PRAY he doesn't. I want no part of Lopez whatsoever.

[Hiphophead101]

What if we fall past the 5th pick guys? Who do you draft there?

Beasley, Rose, Bayless, Lopez are off the board
5th pick?

6th pick - gordon was taken by the team at the 5th slot, your on the board

7th pick - Jordan was taken with the 6th pick. Pick a player of remaining talent.