Derrick Rose got picked first in the NBA draft, and while he's certainly good, Michael Beasley is a clearly superior player. It shows up best in the shooting numbers. Beasley shot 37.9% from three-point range, while Rose shot 33.7%. For a forward whose weak teammates make him the primary focus of opposing defenses to shoot a better percentage than a guard on the second-best team in America -- well, that's like being John Edwards and helping Barack Obama more in Missouri VP polls than home-state Senator Claire McCaskill does. (Beasley had a better FT% and FG% as well, and Edwards overcame better-known opponents in the Missouri polls than McCaskill did.) I've heard that rebounding numbers are the statistic that best translates from NCAA to NBA performance. Beasley led the NCAA with 12.5 rebounds per game.
Beasley wasn't the first pick largely because of worries about whether he'd get into trouble off the field. In his younger days, he kept making trouble at different high schools and having to leave. But as far as I know, it wasn't the violent kind of trouble. One day Beasley was sent to the principal's office for signing objects with a permanent marker. After a stern lecture on how that behavior was unacceptable, Beasley signed the principal's pickup truck and got kicked out of school.
Clearly, you can't go around doing things like that. But I find his merry prankishness sort of endearing, and as long as he doesn't actually do anything really harmful, I can see myself rooting for him in the future.
Beasley wasn't the first pick largely because of worries about whether he'd get into trouble off the field.
They started playing basketball on fields? That David Stern. He so crazy.
Another effective draft for my Blazers as Pritchard worked the phones and moved picks and players to get Arizona PG Jerryd Bayless. Not a guy who's destined to be a superstar, in my opinion, but with Roy, Aldridge, and Oden all we need is someone who can do a competent job of bringing the ball up the court and who doesn't feel the need to (Jarrett) jack up ill-advised shots. I think Bayless fits that bill, and keeps Portland on track for a Championship in 2010.
Posted by: Toast | June 27, 2008 at 07:54 AM
So the Hawks don't get anybody, which is fine ... they would have gotten the not-as-good Lopez. I'm sort of amazed Brook fell to 10th.
I agree that picking Rose #1 is a total error ... everyone is overhyping his tournament play and wants the next CP3.
Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | June 27, 2008 at 08:30 AM
Russel Westbrook by the Sonics is also an error.
Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | June 27, 2008 at 08:31 AM
Yeah! In terms of number of smart moves, I doubt that anybody beat the Blazers. Getting Bayless as he dropped lower than he should have, buying the Arthur pick, the trade with the Turkish guy -- that was good work. Don't know much about the guy they got from Houston for Arthur, but he'd have to be pretty terrible to make this a bad night.
Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | June 27, 2008 at 08:40 AM
Yeah! In terms of number of smart moves, I doubt that anybody beat the Blazers.
Pritchard has shown some other-worldly skills assembling this team. Assuming Oden makes his return on schedule, they'll have Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Rudy Fernandez (Spain), and now Bayless, plus a whole bunch of talent stockpiled on the bench. Add in the fact that they've completely purged the team of bad actors and this has to rank as one of the more amazing turn-around jobs in recent league history.
2010, Baby!
Posted by: Toast | June 27, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Don't forget Martel Webster! He's going to be great someday.
Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | June 27, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Don't forget Martel Webster! He's going to be great someday.
I love the smell of sarcasm in the evening.
Posted by: Toast | June 27, 2008 at 06:53 PM