Bulls pick not foregone conclusion

What if the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the first pick of the 2003 draft, shocked the world by passing on hometown hero LeBron James and selected Carmelo Anthony? Or Darko Milicic?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame might have been pushed into Lake Erie by an angry mob.

There is no point trying to compare James to Memphis point guard Derrick Rose. But after the Bulls beat 1.7 percent odds to win the first pick of the NBA draft, there appears to be a clear consensus in Chicago that Rose, a native of the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, is the best choice.

But there is another strong candidate for the top pick. Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley is just not as well-known to Chicago-area fans.

Bulls general manager John Paxson doesn't care about popular opinion and won't base his choice on a bulls.com fan vote.

"When people get on television and write, I know the game is to say, 'Today, the Bulls should do this,' " Paxson said Wednesday at the Berto Center. "Well, that's not what we do. We have until June 26 and we're going to go about the process thoroughly and hopefully make the right decision.

"If people want to just make assumptions, that's fine. We're going to look at them both in depth and make our decision. I'm not worried about the fact that Derrick's from Chicago. It doesn't affect my thinking one way or the other."

Kansas State wasn't on national television as often as some programs and didn't get beyond the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but Beasley's freshman statistics were beyond eye-popping.

The 6-foot-9 Baltimore native averaged 26.2 points, an NCAA-best 12.4 rebounds and shot 53 percent from the field. Beasley ranked fourth in the nation in free-throw attempts (8.5 per game).

That's better than reigning rookie of the year Kevin Durant, who averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and shot 47 percent during his long season at Texas.

Here's how DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright described Beasley in a Sports Illustrated article a few months ago:

"He's a child prodigy. It's like somebody took the best parts and sewed them together: His hand-eye coordination, his running speed, his hands. He could palm a manhole cover. He's really a point forward, not much different, other than in body length, from Kevin Garnett."

Looking at Beasley's highlight tape, he appears similar to Minnesota's Al Jefferson, with a little Carmelo Anthony sprinkled in. He scores with ease in the post but also can hit outside jumpers and handle the ball.

"He's really, really talented," Paxson said of Beasley. "He scores the ball as easily as any young player that's gone into the college game in a long, long time.

There were concerns about Beasley's maturity in his younger days. He has admitted to being a fun-loving trouble-maker, which was a reason he attended seven different schools in a five-year span.

He told Sports Illustrated his misdeeds never went beyond slashing tires, writing graffiti or placing a dead rat in a teacher's desk drawer.

"I think we'll have enough time and enough information to really delve into who these guys are," Paxson said. "There's no doubt that the character of people is important, the work ethic of people is important, the commitment to winning."

Beasley's track record on the basketball court is impressive, but Rose remains a top contender. The theory is a great point guard would make everyone in a Bulls uniform better.

"True point guards like Rose, I can make the argument that that position is the most difficult to really fill consistently, along with a big presence," Paxson said. "Guys who can score, the way the game is now, are really, really valuable."

Memphis coach John Calipari made his case for the Bulls taking Rose during a Wednesday appearance on WMVP 1000-AM.

"When you talk Derrick Rose, you're talking about a program-builder," Calipari said. "You're talking about a kid that defers to his teammates and a kid who would rather pass and have other people have success. He wants people to feel good around him.

"He could have scored 30 a game for us if he wanted to, but he understood by scoring 14 we had a chance to win every game. That's contagious."