It's Beasley and this mock says why.

[revprodeji]

Yes, Beasley is considered a character risk and Mayo is not.
-The "agent/money" issue is a non-issue for 2 reasons. 1.) Not proven, it sounds like an x-lover debate. 2.) (I think Hoiberg even said it, or maybe McHale) over half the guys in the lotto got paid incentives in some way or another. You force an athlete to remain an amateur for a year and it is gonna happen. What did Lebron drive his senior year of high school?

-Banks provides info on Mayo, he has numerous times this year accredited his personality. Mayo has been in the spotlight since he was 14 and I think the media is trying to make him look spoiled/selfish/etc.

-Hoiberg has a connection with Coach Floyd. He trusts that.

-All the pre-draft reports talk about the "work ethic" of Mayo. Almost all the same articles mention Beasley as "having fun--goofy off" that is a serious issue.

-Mayo is intense, he is professional. I doubt Beasley has the will to be a leader.

[buzzbomb]

Yes, Beasley is considered a character risk and Mayo is not.
-The "agent/money" issue is a non-issue for 2 reasons. 1.) Not proven, it sounds like an x-lover debate. 2.) (I think Hoiberg even said it, or maybe McHale) over half the guys in the lotto got paid incentives in some way or another. You force an athlete to remain an amateur for a year and it is gonna happen. What did Lebron drive his senior year of high school?

-Banks provides info on Mayo, he has numerous times this year accredited his personality. Mayo has been in the spotlight since he was 14 and I think the media is trying to make him look spoiled/selfish/etc.

-Hoiberg has a connection with Coach Floyd. He trusts that.

-All the pre-draft reports talk about the "work ethic" of Mayo. Almost all the same articles mention Beasley as "having fun--goofy off" that is a serious issue.

-Mayo is intense, he is professional. I doubt Beasley has the will to be a leader.

I'm betting all those articles about it being an issue were coming from Miami. They are softening up their fans. But you know my theory. I guess I just don't see a need for a leader. We have one of those. We need the greatest talent I've seen as a freshman ever. That includes Melo and Durrant. Beasley is also a year younger, and whatever is said about either's mentality, Beasley didn't bring a huge stink to his school. Doesn't bother you at all that he used the big city university to further his carreer, skated, and left them under investigation? You don't think for a second he might do the same to us? It's not like it hasn't happened before.I don't know how you could overlook this and call out Beasley for goofing around on the court. And word of Mayo wanting a big city might not come from his mouth but why is he working out for the Knicks? Beasley, when asked how important it was to be #1 said that wherever he went it would be great. And then he named the top 4 teams, Four. A guaranteed top 2 naming the top four teams. Now that's a player who really doesn't care where he goes and just wants to play. Now I got no hate for Mayo, but it's kind of getting like the KG lover thing where I like the player but the overhype and love for the guy goes to the level of having blinders to their weaknesses. I think Mayo is a really good player. But for the Wolves, Beasley fits better, and if both live up to their potential, you'll be killing yourself if you pass on Beasley. Come on Riley!

[4ho5ive]

Yes, Beasley is considered a character risk and Mayo is not.
-The "agent/money" issue is a non-issue for 2 reasons. 1.) Not proven, it sounds like an x-lover debate. 2.) (I think Hoiberg even said it, or maybe McHale) over half the guys in the lotto got paid incentives in some way or another. You force an athlete to remain an amateur for a year and it is gonna happen. What did Lebron drive his senior year of high school?

-Banks provides info on Mayo, he has numerous times this year accredited his personality. Mayo has been in the spotlight since he was 14 and I think the media is trying to make him look spoiled/selfish/etc.

-Hoiberg has a connection with Coach Floyd. He trusts that.

-All the pre-draft reports talk about the "work ethic" of Mayo. Almost all the same articles mention Beasley as "having fun--goofy off" that is a serious issue.

-Mayo is intense, he is professional. I doubt Beasley has the will to be a leader.

I'm betting all those articles about it being an issue were coming from Miami. They are softening up their fans. But you know my theory. I guess I just don't see a need for a leader. We have one of those. We need the greatest talent I've seen as a freshman ever. That includes Melo and Durrant. Beasley is also a year younger, and whatever is said about either's mentality, Beasley didn't bring a huge stink to his school. Doesn't bother you at all that he used the big city university to further his carreer, skated, and left them under investigation? You don't think for a second he might do the same to us? It's not like it hasn't happened before.I don't know how you could overlook this and call out Beasley for goofing around on the court. And word of Mayo wanting a big city might not come from his mouth but why is he working out for the Knicks? Beasley, when asked how important it was to be #1 said that wherever he went it would be great. And then he named the top 4 teams, Four. A guaranteed top 2 naming the top four teams. Now that's a player who really doesn't care where he goes and just wants to play. Now I got no hate for Mayo, but it's kind of getting like the KG lover thing where I like the player but the overhype and love for the guy goes to the level of having blinders to their weaknesses. I think Mayo is a really good player. But for the Wolves, Beasley fits better, and if both live up to their potential, you'll be killing yourself if you pass on Beasley. Come on Riley!

Are you really serious? So you are saying that if he really didnt care where he would get drafted, that he shouldnt be working out for the Knicks, when in all possibility he could slip to them at #6 if we pass? Wow,

[horaceworthy]

Yes, Beasley is considered a character risk and Mayo is not.
-The "agent/money" issue is a non-issue for 2 reasons. 1.) Not proven, it sounds like an x-lover debate. 2.) (I think Hoiberg even said it, or maybe McHale) over half the guys in the lotto got paid incentives in some way or another. You force an athlete to remain an amateur for a year and it is gonna happen. What did Lebron drive his senior year of high school?

-Banks provides info on Mayo, he has numerous times this year accredited his personality. Mayo has been in the spotlight since he was 14 and I think the media is trying to make him look spoiled/selfish/etc.

-Hoiberg has a connection with Coach Floyd. He trusts that.

-All the pre-draft reports talk about the "work ethic" of Mayo. Almost all the same articles mention Beasley as "having fun--goofy off" that is a serious issue.

-Mayo is intense, he is professional. I doubt Beasley has the will to be a leader.

I think it's tough to say one's a character risk, but the other isn't, especially when the one who isn't is part of a reopened NCAA investigation.

The agent/money thing is an issue because, if it's true, it means that Mayo risked having whatever success USC had while he was there wiped away so he could have nice clothes and a TV in his room. That's not exactly a leader mentality.

The main difference to me right now is two things:

1. Beasley is 19 and isn't ashamed to act like it. He's said that "on the court, he's 30" and repeatedly talked about being willing to do whatever a team needs him to do to win (which was backed up by Durant earlier in the year and his coach later on). I don't see somebody having fun/goofing off while he's asked to stand around for 3 hours then shoot jumpers, hit the bench and run/jump for 20 minutes as much of an issue. I get the impression that he feels that he did enough on the court this year to warrant a top 2 pick, and I can't say that I disagree with him.

Mayo can't afford to act like a typical 19/20 year old right now with the allegations swirling around him. Not after a somewhat underwhelming freshman season combined with a lot of steam about his character. To his credit, he's realized this and acted accordingly.

2. Mayo has a better media coach than Beasley. The choices to market him as a Deron Williams type and simply dismiss questions about his conduct at USC were great ones. He's saying all the right things, even if his responses seem a little canned.

Beasley seems candid, almost to a fault, in interviews. He expressed a little disappointment when he measured at 6'8", and he actually lets his personality show. He doesn't have the hype machine working overtime like Mayo did a week or so ago, and if the rumors coming out of Miami are true, he may drop a spot in the draft because of it (partially).

All in all, neither one seems like a massive character risk to me, but I think it's a bit of a double standard to name one a character issue but not the other.

[casey]

Yes, Beasley is considered a character risk and Mayo is not.
-The "agent/money" issue is a non-issue for 2 reasons. 1.) Not proven, it sounds like an x-lover debate. 2.) (I think Hoiberg even said it, or maybe McHale) over half the guys in the lotto got paid incentives in some way or another. You force an athlete to remain an amateur for a year and it is gonna happen. What did Lebron drive his senior year of high school?

-Banks provides info on Mayo, he has numerous times this year accredited his personality. Mayo has been in the spotlight since he was 14 and I think the media is trying to make him look spoiled/selfish/etc.

-Hoiberg has a connection with Coach Floyd. He trusts that.

-All the pre-draft reports talk about the "work ethic" of Mayo. Almost all the same articles mention Beasley as "having fun--goofy off" that is a serious issue.

-Mayo is intense, he is professional. I doubt Beasley has the will to be a leader.

So basically, Beasley is a character risk because some people said he was having fun at pre-draft workouts. Do I have that right?

[deeney0]

Getting kicked out of Oak Hill, some of the things cameras caught on the court and on the bench (yelling at teammates, not paying attention, not seeming to care)... to a certain extent, more than half of the players in this draft are "character risks," the only question is to what extent. And unless someone pulls and Cedric Benson or a Pacman Jonesin the next ten days, it's really hard to quantify "how much" of a character concern someone is with second and third hand information.

I imagine it's easier to draw conclusions about someone in a workout. Mayo's problems, if he does in fact have them, wouldn't show up in that context. He's well spoken, intelligent, a hard worker, buisness like. If he does have problems, they'll be "pay me more than I'm worth" or "trade me to a big market" down the rode, or maybe posse-related. OTOH, if Beasley is space cadetting it up in workouts, that could come off poorly, even if he's a good person at heart. He doesn't seem to be nearly as well spoken or intelligent as Mayo.