I'm in the middle of a throwdown regarding this topic, and it's frustrating that my arguments are cut to 1,200 words each time. So I'll flesh it out a little more here, and tell you why Michael Beasley should have been the No. 1 overall selection, and why he's a better fit for the Bulls' current roster situation.
First and foremost, and plain and simply, Beasley is clearly the better player. Offensively, he's arguably the premier mid-range player to enter the NBA Draft in the past decade. Despite being 6'8" he can drive both left and right off the dribble, and pulls up on a dime for smooth jumpers. He can step behind the three-point arc with effectiveness, and is an exceptional rebounder. He uses his long arms and athleticism to attack the glass, specifically on the offensive end.
Beasley also possesses impressive footwork on the low block, and he can use his quick feet to help his defense. He's a quick leaper with the potential to block shots, and he knows the game well enough to step inside passing lanes at the small forward position.
While Beasley needs to improve on very little to become an NBA superstar, contrarily, Rose has a long way to go. Rose is an unbelievable athlete with a respectable mid-range game, but he's not the passer that many fans and analysts are making him out to be. His quickness is off the charts, but he doesn't use that quickness to his advantage enough in the halfcourt. He's adept at throwing alley-oops on the fastbreak, but there is much more to a pure point guard than that.
Like Beasley, Rose has the natural gifts to be a good defender. In the long run, I don't think we'll have to worry about either of them as defenders. But offensively, Rose is four or five seasons away from becoming a consistent outside shooter, and if he wants to be like Chris Paul or Deron Williams he'll have to take advantage of open looks.
Rose is a good finisher around the rim when he attacks with consistency and control, but sometimes he just comes flying in and throws up a wild one. He needs to maintain his composure if he wants to get the Bulls back into the playoff picture immediately.
Speaking of the Bulls, let's talk about why Beasley would have been a better fit for them. Last season, both head coaches Scott Skiles and Jim Boylan said they couldn't find a way to get the Bulls to score with consistency. This year they return virtually the same roster, just add Rose and subtract free agent Andres Nocioni.
So what's the problem? Well...how are they going to score this season?
Some of the people commenting on the throwdown on this topic were saying, "Rose is a point guard, he'll score and help the other guys score."
It's not that simple. I wish people on this website would think outside the generic every once in awhile. While I think Rose will get his fair share of assists in the open court, that doesn't solve the halfcourt issue. The fourth quarter of most NBA games are played entirely in the halfcourt, that's where the top teams separate themselves from the mediocre. So if the Bulls play the pass-and-cut, drive-and-kick style of offense that everyone expects them to play, that doesn't help them when the game is on the line and they need a one-on-one bucket.
During the NBA regular season, teams will allow their opponents easy baskets on backdoor cuts or simple penetration and dish, but not in the fourth quarter. Teams who play the Bulls' style of offense are taken totally out of their game when the opposition turns up the defensive screws. That's why all of the premier teams have a guy they can clear it out for when they need a big one. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce/Ray Allen, Tim Duncan/Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, LeBron James, etc.
The Bulls don't have anyone even close to those finishers. A couple of seasons ago it looked like Ben Gordon could develop into that type of scorer, but Bulls' management has always mishandled him and he ends up coming off the bench all the time. He wasn't in rhythm this past year like he would have been as a starter. Now with Rose in town and Kirk Hinrich still on the roster, they are talking about Gordon coming off the bench once again.
That doesn't solve anything. They still don't have the go-to scorer when they need one. Sure Beasley's a rookie, but he has the skill set to be a primary scorer right away. As a Bull I would have projected him at 20 points and eight rebounds per game. He won't do quite the same with Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion in the picture in Miami.
Let's look at the Bulls' personnel. Their projected starting lineup is: PG-Rose, SG-Hinrich, SF-Luol Deng, PF-Drew Gooden, C-Joakim Noah. Top bench players: SG-Gordon, G-Larry Hughes, F-Tyrus Thomas, G-Thabo Sefolosha, G-Chris Duhon, and C-Aaron Gray.
That's really not that bad. They can probably sneak into the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed in the East with their current team.
But that's not the point. With Beasley, they could be a 5 or 6 seed, and maybe get back into contention with the Pistons like they were two seasons ago. With Rose, that's not a possibility. The Pistons clamp down on a team-style offense when it matters, but we know they can struggle with a one-man gang -- think LeBron James in the '06-07 playoffs.
Now I'm not saying Beasley is going to be dominant like LeBron right out of the gate, I'm just saying that a true primary scorer creates mayhem for an opposing defense. Even as a rookie, Beasley is the type of player who will command a double-team at times, leaving the court open for an off-the-ball cut, or a ball reversal three. With their current roster, the Bulls don't have a single player who needs to be doubled.
To simplify it all -- Rose is good, the Bulls will be OK with him. Beasley is a full step ahead of Rose -- the Bulls would be better than good with him...they'd be one of the premier teams in the Eastern Conference.
Jessica White
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Comments (7) Add A Comment
Plain and simply you don't know what your talking about...Rose is going to be a fantastic starting point guard for the Bulls and he brings many qualities to the team that don't always show up in the stat sheet. Sure Beasely can score but I think his rebounding #'s will greatly decrease in the NBA with much larger and more athletic players. Rose brings leadership, and a desire to win that is unmatched by any other player that was in this draft. He also has good size for his position, is lightning quick, and extremely athletic (much more than Beasely) for you to say that Beasely is so much better than Rose is a mistake. Beasely might win rookie of the year honors but he is also playing a much easier position than Rose not to mention he will be playing alongside a superstar already in Wade. Rose will make the Bulls a much better team than Beasely ever could. Rose is a winner and he has proven that everywhere he has played. I would take Rose over Beasely every time, unless I had CP3 or D Will and that would be the ONLY exception. So to sum it up everything that Rose does doesn't always translate to the stat sheet, but its also something that is invaluable and very hard to find. He is a team first player and I love that!
CyrilNoelke
Chicago , IL
Total Comments (36)
You spelled "Beasley" wrong every single time and you're telling me "plain and simply" that I don't know what I'm talking about. That seems to be a bit of a contradiction.
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
What will happen when Beasley goes up against Amare, or Dwight Howard? He may have just scored 28 in the Heat win over the Bulls, but come on, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas were guarding him. Thomas can block a couple shots, but can't play 'stick-it-to-him' defense and can get into foul trouble. Especially going up against a PF like Beasley. And Noah, to me, is just no good; but that's another time. Beasley will be shut down on the block offensively and defensively by teams with a decent backcourt.
How would Beasley be a better fit? The Bulls desperately need a team leader and a playmaker, and that IS Rose. Nobody believes the Bulls are going to win the championship now that they have Rose, but it's a big leap in the right direction. Youn mentioned Rose is four or five seasons away from being like Chris Paul.. well, no one mentioned him last year; his rookie season. Now he is suddenly a superstar. What makes you think that Rose, being more quick and athletic, won't do the same? All in all, Rose is the perfect fit for the Bulls, and they would've been stupid to not pick him first.
Plus Rose is from Chicago, and like his mom said on draft night, "This is Chicago, this is where he knows how to play."
konks8
Glen Ellyn , IL
Total Comments (1)
(1) Beasley won't be competing with Amare too often considering that the Suns are in the West, and Amare definitely isn't known for his defense.
(2) Dwight Howard will never be covering him, he's a center on the Magic. Their starting lineup was Nelson, Evans, Turkoglu, Lewis, Howard in the playoffs. Plus Beasley will be spending some time at small forward, nowhere near Dwight.
(3) Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah are both good young defenders. The entire league is not made up of Amare's and DHoward's...most nights Beasley will have favorable match-ups.
(4) You said, "You mentioned Rose is four or five seasons away from being like Chris Paul; well, no one mentioned him last year, his rookie season." Umm, this past season was CP3's third year, so the season before wasn't his "rookie season." And people were already talking about him, he was Rookie of the Year during the 2005-2006 season.
(5) No one cares about Rose's mom.
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
ok well since the first two couldnt get you to admit shortcomings in your argument it's my turn. First off Nocioni is not going to be gone, Duhon wasnt ever going to resign with the Bulls not after the things that happened last season and you have him on this years projected roster. So, if the Bulls have Noc and Deng at the small forward where it appears you are projecting most of Beasleys time to be spent at then Pax would have to admit failure by replacing those two. if hes at the 4 then hes bumping Thomas and Gooden and Noc who plays there too. Hinrich could be traded or moved to the 2 which better suits him to catch and shoot coming off of screens. They have Gooden now whom they didnt have when Skiles was coach and talking about lack of low post scoring. And if you watched Gooden did pretty well after coming over averaging close to 20 and 10 and with a good point to play pick and roll with he will only improve. You obviously love Gordon which is another problem. The reason he doesnt start is cause he couldnt guard my mom. He most likely wont be resigned as he is a free agent and they are stuck with Hughes, they drafted Rose and have Kirk and Thabo under contract so there set at guard. I hate having Hughes there though he is a cancer and Id rather have gordon then him but nobody will take Hughes contract and i wouldnt want to pay gordon what he wants to play matador defense.
Back to you being in love with Beasleys scoring ability, I remember the Bucks being in love with this guy who played High School ball right by me and played for Purdue, big time scorer comin outta college, was named Glenn Robinson, they took him at the top of the draft. Turns out that same draft someone else, the Mavs, took Jason Kidd. So do you take the unstoppable college scorer or the once a generation point guard. I think J Kidd answered that question years ago, so you can stop agruing it now. Thank you and good night
Hoosierboy3423
Highland , IN
Total Comments (14)
Being from Kansas, and watching Beasley make the Kansas State Wildcats respectable again, I too, was perplexed by Chicago's decision to pass him up for a point guard. They should have used their draft pick to get the big guy and then, if they still wanted a point guard, there were plenty available that could have contributed.
I think the Bulls blew it!
KUfan4evr
Topeka , KS
Total Comments (1)
Hoosierboy, you can't just compare Beasley to Glenn Robinson and Rose to Jason Kidd because they play the same or similar positions. Beasley's frame makes him available to play small forward in the NBA, but his skills are much more conducive to the power forward position than "Big Dog's" were way back when. Also, Robinson never showed the dedication or ability to defend. Beasley clearly has the athleticism and ability.
Rose and Kidd aren't comparable. Rose has shown his greatest potential to be in slashing and mid-range scoring, not in passing. Kidd was always, from day one, considered a top distributing prospect. Rose is way more explosive than Kidd ever was, and Kidd's passing is in another solar system compared to Rose. Not similar at all. A forced, desperate comparison on your part.
JFro
L.I., NY
Total Comments (602)
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