Comparisons to other NBA success stories mean little to Bulls' decision
This week's column is dedicated to all the executives and coaches whose careers were ruined by never finding good fortune in the NBA draft lottery.
Until the Bulls' lucky numbers popped up, their most prominent issues were the marathon coaching search and how the inability to land Pau Gasol turned the Lakers into championship favorites.
Now it's all about No. 1 and the Derrick Rose-Michael Beasley debate.
• Don't bother trying to look at the NBA's 2008 final four to find an answer for which player the Bulls should select in the June 26 draft.
The league's best point guards, Chris Paul and Deron Williams, have been eliminated, but it's silly to use that as a reason to avoid Rose. In three years, New Orleans improved by 38 wins since adding Paul, while Utah added 28 victories after drafting Williams.
There is not a good comparison for Rose or Beasley among any of the four teams still playing.
The Lakers don't have much of a point guard, but they're built like the 1991-93 Bulls. Derrick Fisher is basically John Paxson.
The argument that few great point guards have won NBA titles doesn't apply here. If today's Bulls had Kobe Bryant and Gasol, they wouldn't need a point guard, either.
It's also tough to compare Beasley to San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Boston's Kevin Garnett or even Detroit's Rasheed Wallace because Beasley doesn't have the same height.
Beasley was listed at 6-feet-10 by Kansas State, though most observers suspect he's actually an inch or two shorter. The answer should come later this week once the top prospects are measured at the Orlando predraft camp.
Style-wise, the NBA players who compare best to Beasley are guys such as Utah's Carlos Boozer and New Orleans' David West, though Beasley certainly appears to have more speed and finesse in his game. He was also far more productive in college than the other two.
So while it's easy to imagine Rose having the same impact as Paul and Williams -- not guaranteed, of course -- a comparative projection for Beasley is tougher to picture.
This might be the toughest call with the No. 1 pick since Orlando chose between Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway in 1993, because Rose and Beasley own such different skills.
• The report last week claiming the Bulls had already settled on Beasley was ridiculous. The Bulls were not expecting to have the No. 1 pick, so how could they have such developed opinions on the two players?
The game plan on Floor 2 of the Berto Center is to spend the next few weeks watching every minute of every game Beasley and Rose played last season, while doing extensive background research.
Both prospects figure to spend two full days visiting with the Bulls and are allowed to come back a second time for 24 hours.
If the Bulls are leaning in any direction right now, I suspect it's toward Rose. But the debate is wide open.
• Beasley's behavior issues will be a hot topic in the weeks leading up to the draft. There are no reports of any serious legal trouble, but he messed up enough to have to attend seven schools in five years.
It's easy to chalk up those incidents to immaturity. But it was only two years ago that Beasley was asked to leave renowned basketball power Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. How much has he grown in the meantime?
General manager John Paxson has always kept an eye on character, so it wouldn't be a shock if Beasley's personal history ended up serving as a tiebreaker in this decision. The face-to-face interviews will be important.