Re-doing the 2008 NBA Draft.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

I thought it would be fun to see what teams would do differently, had they had the chance to go back. Would ya'll still trade the pick or would you keep it?

1. Bulls - Derrick Rose
2. Heat - Michael Beasley

[john2jer]

Do we know then what we know now? Meaning do we get to make the decision knowing that in February Big Al is going to break a wheel?

[Krapinsky]

Brook Lopez. He's better face up from the high post. He has a ridiculous 9'5" standing reach. He's the perfect compliment to Al as a PF. Having those two alone would be a playoff guarantee.

[TheFranchise21]

^ Ehh...

I voted Lopez too (damn Watters), but I don't think we would be a playoff lock. Two good big men and no good guards do not equal a playoff berth.

[shrink]

Did you do this through MIA too? I'd laugh myself silly if they still took Beasley at #2.

I think with the knowledge we had at the time made Mayo the right pick, and the trade was a beneficial one as well. Love certainly deserved to be behind Mayo at the time of the draft. however, after one year, Mayo's big question mark .. "Can he be superstar?" ... is still in doubt, and Love's big question mark .. "Can he play against NBA bigs?" ... is a resounding "yes!" I don't see much difference in the value of Love and Mayo right now, and the fact that we cleared Jaric and added a very tradable Mike Miller makes the trade even better.

So for me, the question is .. if we knew what would happen this season, would we go back and pick Lopez? I think the answer is "yes." He clearly is a better fit than Love, and outplayed him this year as well. So I think McHale et al did the right thing at the time (why draft at #3 when he lasted until #10?), based on the information available, but in a magic world where we knew the future, I'd rank them

1. Draft Brook Lopez
2. Trade the Pick
3. Keep OJ Mayo

[Calinks]

I really like Love but I probably would have to take Lopez becasue of Big Al.

[Hoops23]

Did you do this through MIA too? I'd laugh myself silly if they still took Beasley at #2.

I think with

Miami still going to draft Beasley at no 2, either they keep him or trade him. The only reason Miami will not draft Beasley is if Rose is available at #2. Miami need a PG by that time, thats why they traded for Chalmers who then was drafted by Minny.

You obviously really like Beasley.
You can only have him in a trade.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Do we know then what we know now? Meaning do we get to make the decision knowing that in February Big Al is going to break a wheel?

No, just as in how the rookies did, not injuries. I mean if that is a factor, I suppose so.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Did you do this through MIA too? I'd laugh myself silly if they still took Beasley at #2.

I was shocked they still went with Beasley.

I agree that Lopez would be a nice pick for ya'll, but I'll give it a few more votes before calling it.

[shrink]

Did you do this through MIA too? I'd laugh myself silly if they still took Beasley at #2.

I think with

Miami still going to draft Beasley at no 2, either they keep him or trade him. The only reason Miami will not draft Beasley is if Rose is available at #2. Miami need a PG by that time, thats why they traded for Chalmers who then was drafted by Minny.

You obviously really like Beasley. :lol:
You can only have him in a trade.

No, I personally don't think Beasley is a top 5 pick after this season. However, I think all but the biggest MIA-homers would agree he shouldn't be picked in front of Brook Lopez

[shrink]

Another way to do this is to say whether after his first season in the NBA, whether a player's stock has gone up or down. for me:

UP 1. Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose .. better than hoped right away
DOWN 2. Miami Heat Michael Beasley .. wasn't close to being the #2 star from the draft
DOWN 3. Minnesota Timberwolves O.J. Mayo .. still questions about stardom
UP 4. Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook .. might be a steal
UP 5. Memphis Grizzlies Kevin Love .. answered question if his game could handle nba bigs
DOWN 6. New York Knicks Danilo Gallinari .. injuries created even more question marks
UP 7. Los Angeles Clippers Eric Gordon .. nice production from the #7 pick
DOWN 8. Milwaukee Bucks Joe Alexander .. may be the biggest bust of the lottery
EVEN 9. Charlotte Bobcats D.J. Augustin .. I liked what I've seen, but I need to see more
UP 10. New Jersey Nets Brook Lopez .. may be biggest lottery steal in some time.

[Hoops23]

Did you do this through MIA too? I'd laugh myself silly if they still took Beasley at #2.

I think with

Miami still going to draft Beasley at no 2, either they keep him or trade him. The only reason Miami will not draft Beasley is if Rose is available at #2. Miami need a PG by that time, thats why they traded for Chalmers who then was drafted by Minny.

You obviously really like Beasley.
You can only have him in a trade.

However, I think all but the biggest MIA-homers would agree he shouldn't be picked in front of Brook Lopez

I doubt all the biggest Mia-homer would agree Beasley shouldn't be pick in front of Lopez. LINK?
Get over with your frustrations for not having Beasley.

No, I personally don't think Beasley is a top 5 pick after this season.

UP 1. Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose .. better than hoped right away
DOWN 2. Miami Heat Michael Beasley .. wasn't close to being the #2 star from the draft
DOWN 3. Minnesota Timberwolves O.J. Mayo .. still questions about stardom

Beasley not a top 5 pick!!!
With my observation with your several post, your frustrated for not having Beasley. You still can't get over it.
I dont believe you will not pick him at no 3 if he's available.

Beasley's situation is different and you cannot compare him to the other rookies. If Beasley is on another lottery team, I'm confident to say that his minutes and stats will be up.

[D' Winner Within]

If I have the crystal ball at that time, I'll draft Mayo and trade Randy Foye or trade down for Brook Lopez and a filler and/or draft pick. Of course I still like Beasley (but not frustrated as the other poster) but I doubt he'll fall for the TWolves #3, so I'll settle for Mayo or Lopez.

If Beasley is in this years draft, I still think 70% he will be a 1st round pick. Last year he was ahead of Griffin in most mock draft and eyes of the scouts. Beasley was awesome in the rookie-sophomore game this year. I'd like to trade for him but I doubt Minny has the piece to get him. I also think that if he's in the right team, he'll be better than what the Beasley we saw in Miami.

I wish Kahn was the TWolves GM then, Mayo might be in Minny uniform, OR Beasley if we trade the #3 plus the two 2nd round pick last year knowing the Heat likes Chalmers.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Beasley not a top 5 pick!!!

Honestly man, I would take Rose, Westbrook, Lopez, and Mayo all before Beasley. Its not that I expected Beasley to have better stats(which I did), its just the fact after watching him play, I don't think his ceiling is all that high. I mean, I see him being a guy who eventually stuffs the stat sheet in points and rebounds, but really doesn't impact the game all that much. Mayo may end up being the same way, but he at least showed more his rookie season.

[4ho5ive]

If I have the crystal ball at that time, I'll draft Mayo and trade Randy Foye or trade down for Brook Lopez and a filler and/or draft pick. Of course I still like Beasley (but not frustrated as the other poster) but I doubt he'll fall for the TWolves #3, so I'll settle for Mayo or Lopez.

If Beasley is in this years draft, I still think 70% he will be a 1st round pick. Last year he was ahead of Griffin in most mock draft and eyes of the scouts. Beasley was awesome in the rookie-sophomore game this year. I'd like to trade for him but I doubt Minny has the piece to get him. I also think that if he's in the right team, he'll be better than what the Beasley we saw in Miami.

I wish Kahn was the TWolves GM then, Mayo might be in Minny uniform, OR Beasley if we trade the #3 plus the two 2nd round pick last year knowing the Heat likes Chalmers.

At first i was gonna make fun of you for this post, then it hit me. You truly dont know how the NBA works. Its sad really.

[Hoops23]

Beasley not a top 5 pick!!!

Honestly man, I would take Rose, Westbrook, Lopez, and Mayo all before Beasley. Its not that I expected Beasley to have better stats(which I did), its just the fact after watching him play, I don't think his ceiling is all that high. I mean, I see him being a guy who eventually stuffs the stat sheet in points and rebounds, but really doesn't impact the game all that much. Mayo may end up being the same way, but he at least showed more his rookie season.

Come on! Mayo is in a team where he doesn't have a competition in in his position, Miami has Haslem at PF and Beasley as a reserve. If ever these two players (Mayo & Beasley) in opposite places, I doubt Mayo gets the stats in his rookie year with Wade around. Another thing is, Miami is competing for a playoff spot to Memphis who's rebuilding. Just like I said, you can't compare his stats to other rookies because of the situation he's in Miami. I'm really convince Beasley stats are higher than what he has last season if he's in another lottery team wherein he doesn't have a competion in his position.

[tvwolves7]

Beasley not a top 5 pick!!!

Honestly man, I would take Rose, Westbrook, Lopez, and Mayo all before Beasley. Its not that I expected Beasley to have better stats(which I did), its just the fact after watching him play, I don't think his ceiling is all that high. I mean, I see him being a guy who eventually stuffs the stat sheet in points and rebounds, but really doesn't impact the game all that much. Mayo may end up being the same way, but he at least showed more his rookie season.

Come on! Mayo is in a team where he doesn't have a competition in in his position, Miami has Haslem at PF and Beasley as a reserve. If ever these two players (Mayo & Beasley) in opposite places, I doubt Mayo gets the stats in his rookie year with Wade around. Another thing is, Miami is competing for a playoff spot to Memphis who's rebuilding. Just like I said, you can't compare his stats to other rookies because of the situation he's in Miami. I'm really convince Beasley stats are higher than what he has last season if he's in another lottery team wherein he doesn't have a competion in his position.

For the Timberwolves themselves my top 5 would be:

Rose
Lopez
Westbrook
Love
Mayo

I do not doubt that other teams would have a different board but this is based off our needs and what I got to see. You are going to have a hard time making me believe that Beasley the #2, a stud in college, who could not crack the starting job over Haslem at some point this season is better then the 5 I named above. I am not knocking Haslem as a starter but I think majority of people expected a player with that much talent would have played a more solid game and made his way to a starting job. The games I saw him in he seemed to not put in 100%, again I only saw 2-3 Heat games all season.

[Devilzsidewalk]

If I didn't take Love, I'd go with Westbrook. Lopez and Mayo are nice, but I think Westbrook has the best combination of high potential and good fit for the team. If you're going to have Big Al on the team, you want to help him out w/ elite perimeter defenders and Westbrook could possibly be the best of the best in that regard.

[Esohny]

I'm fine with what happened, the only possible improvement might have been if we could have gone Mayo and poor contracts for Lopez + assets. Arguably, since Lopez lasted so much longer, we MIGHT have even gotten a better deal, especially since NJ might have been psyched for a Harris-Mayo backcourt.

[john2jer]

When I first read this thread last night, I voted for the trade still. In ranking the players in the draft, my top 5 looks like...

1. Rose
2. Lopez
3. Westbrook
4. Love
5. Mayo

The reason I vote for the trade is because it cleared out Walker, Jaric, and Buckner, while bringing in Miller and 2010 expirings. It improved our locker room, cap situation, and overall talent. Now if a similar style trade was available with the Nets for Lopez and a package comperative to the Memphis package, I'd probably prefer that. Same with OKC and Westbrook.

So it's the other pieces of the trade that tip the scales for me. But straight up picking a player and no trades available, I'd take Lopez and Westbrook.

Side note: I'm laughing hard at the guy who thinks knocking a player really means you love that player and want him on your team. This isn't 3rd grade recess.