Bulls make mistake passing on Beasley
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
Michael Beasley “falling” to No. 2 in the NBA draft is not an indictment of what he accomplished at Kansas State or even a product of Beasley being 2 inches shorter than his 6-foot-10 program height.
Derrick Rose, the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s draft, is not a better player than Beasley. Heck, I’m not convinced Rose is any better than Kansas point guard Sherron Collins, who — without being completely healthy — outplayed Rose in the national championship game.
The Bulls tabbed Rose with the first pick because he’s a talented player who happens to play the right position. The NBA is a pick-and-roll, point-guard league. Rose can dominate the basketball and play a two-man game with any of Chicago’s frontcourt players.
Beasley, a power forward, could potentially be the second part of a pick-and-roll game. He could be Karl Malone playing opposite John Stockton. The wisdom now is that you grab Stockton first.
New Orleans’ Chris Paul and Utah’s Deron Williams ushered in this new philosophy of going small before going big. Paul and Williams have elevated the play of their teammates while making the Hornets and Jazz huge threats in the Western Conference.
The Bulls believe Rose can be as good as Williams and Paul.
I happen to disagree and think Chicago made a mistake passing on Beasley. But I understand the logic. If there’s a legitimate knock on Beasley’s game, it would be that he didn’t make any of his teammates better at Kansas State.
Now, the people making this assertion don’t understand how limited Beasley’s K-State teammates were — even Bill Walker.
Beasley couldn’t slash 20 pounds off Walker, who was never in proper shape last season. And I’m not sure Beasley could do anything about Walker’s lack of emotional control.
As good as Beasley was in his one year of college, I believe he’ll be even better in the pros. Given K-State’s inexperienced coaching staff and the lack of talent on the roster, Beasley did all he could at K-State.
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I hope Brandon Rush took a moment Thursday and thanked his higher power for the knee injury that caused him to return for a third season at Kansas.
Wow, what a happy ending for our hometown hero. He’s forced to come back to Kansas, wins a national championship, gets drafted No. 13 — several spots higher than originally projected — and then gets traded to the Indiana Pacers, his brother Kareem’s squad. ESPN’s draft coverage was so terrible that Andy Katz failed to ask Brandon about joining his brother during a brief interview. Brandon seemed shocked by the trade. But Indiana is a better situation for him.
The Trail Blazers have an established two guard, Brandon Roy, one of the best young players in the league. Brandon Rush could get major playing time in Indiana … as long as he can beat out his brother, a key reserve for the Pacers.
I’m probably the only person as happy as the Rush family. Indiana’s off-court problems in recent years destroyed my passion for my favorite pro sports team. Now with the Rush brothers wearing the jersey Reggie Miller made famous, I’ll have a reason to religiously follow the Pacers again.
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Darrell Arthur fell out of the draft’s top 20 because he doesn’t have a true NBA position. He’s not big and strong enough to defend power forwards. He’s not quick enough to defend top-flight small forwards.
On the offensive end, Arthur will struggle to get low-post position on big forwards, and he’ll have trouble getting shooting separation against small forwards.
I felt terrible every time ESPN cameras showed Arthur sitting in the green room. It’s always embarrassing to be the last player picked who was invited to the draft. ESPN actually did a nice job of not humiliating Arthur and his family. Stu Scott and the analysts did not dwell on Arthur’s situation.
It’s easy to say now, but Arthur probably should’ve come back for one more season. He could’ve put up big numbers and played his way into the draft lottery.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.
