Young Summer

Both Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose made their debut against each other in a summer league game between the Heat and the Bulls. As expected, Beasley came out with victorious behind his stats and in the win column. Behind a 94-70 win, Beasley backed his expected rookie value with 28 points and 9 boards in 22 minutes. Derrick Rose put up 10 points along with 4 assists in 28 minutes. Though the competition wasn’t grade-A, Beasley held his own against NBA minute-grabbers, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas. The real stage will be set when these two meet up during the regular season. We’ll most likely be blessed with this game on national tv.

Freshmen Headlines

Thursday night was a night filled with immense headlines and changes for the League. After soaking in all of the decisions by each team for several hours, I felt I couldn’t pick a better time to write this up ’til after the following blockbuster trade which took place a little pass 1 a.m.

T’Wolves receive Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins from the Grizzlies for O.J. Mayo, Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker and Greg Buckner.

After all the lights were turned off at MSG, Wolves GM Kevin McHale rolled up his sleeves and made the moves necessary to bring more skill to the front court, along with a stronger perimeter shooter in Mike Miller. The Grizzlies finally bring home the desired O.J. Mayo to create a congested backcourt with guards, Kyle Lowry, Javaris Crittenton and Mike Conley. The deal turns out to work for both teams equally.

The Grizzlies back court will face tension in the minutes that are to be spread from the guards. The loss of Juan Carlos Navarro, with his decision to leave the team and play overseas and Mike Miller’s departure due to the trade help out the cause. The production from the back court is not the factor to worry about for Memphis now,

the back court does become the question though. With the loss of Pau Gasol in their infamous trade, Memphis is left with Darko Milicic (7ppg., 6rpg.), Hakim Warrick (11ppg., 4rpg.), Kwame Brown. The execution to get Mayo define GM, Chris Wallace’s obsession to have Mayo on the roster. It is now up to Wallace to put forth one or two moves to add help to the front court.

The Timberwolves, on the other hand are a developing team with a healthy line-up. O.J. Mayo would’ve done nothing but give this teams a solid 10 to 15 more wins then last season. But the acquirement of Kevin Love helps stretch the length of this young team. Alongside, Al Jefferson (21ppg., 11rpg., 1.5bpg.) and Ryan Gomes (12.6ppg., 5.8rpg.), and Craig Smith (9.4ppg., 4.6rpg.), Kevin Love is surrounded by plenty of young big-men that have been in his position not too long ago, to help relate. Love fell into a comfortable spot to express his game for this team that’s exploding with potential. The guard position wasn’t hurt either Thursday night, even after losing Mayo. With Foye and Telfair coming back, along with the selection of Mario Chalmers, McHale is upgrading smoothly after the loss of KG.

With the #1 Draft pick, the Chicago Bulls select guard, Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis.

Not a soul was a surprised with this pick. The only reason this pick drew questions was due to Chicago’s mass amount of effective guards. The list includes, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Larry Hughes, Chris Duhon, Thabo Sefolosha, JamesOn Curry, and Shannon Brown. There is no mystery as to why the Bulls chose Rose, the best guard in the draft. But, passing on Michael Beasley, the best player in the draft causes talk. Derrick Rose’s playmaking ability will be Chicago’s reasoning throughout the season as many will compare the two. Rose has a tremendous amount of pressure in his rookie season, anything less than stellar will be held against him and the organization’s decision-making. Derrick Rose’s talents are unexplainable for his position, his career will be put to the test right off the bat in his hometown. Many will think the Bulls are senseless in drafting another guard, but they see elements in Rose that most don’t understand. It is still extremely early in the off-season to assume this will be the final roster for Chicago. With their amusing stack of guards, expect their chase after a big time player down low. Rose’s presence will help turn this franchise around in a matter of 1-3 years, if you’re a Bulls fan, prepare for a set of grateful years ahead.

Miami overcomes all the rumors and selects Michael Beasley with their second pick.

Everyone was fed with abundant talks of Riley desperately trying to nab an explosive guard from the draft or a big time player like Elton Brand. It is still questionable whether Pat Riley and the Heat will stick through with this decision of Beasley and not push for a trade. It is still obvious the Heat want to make another significant push for a guard this off-season. Miami fans can only hope it doesn’t involve Beasley. Drafting Michael Beasley masked Miami as one of the smartest teams in the Draft by not letting Beasley drop on Minnesota or Seattle’s lap.

It’s been said many times on this page and it’ll be repeated, Michael Beasley is the best player in this Draft. Michael Beasley brings forth size, strength, jumping ability, quickness and scoring. His left-handed stroke is the essence of his shooting ability. He can pretty much get by defenders at will with his strong triple-step jab moves. Accompany that with an unbelievably soft touch around the basket with both hands and you have yourself a prime time scorer. It is only a matter of time before his name is mentioned in the same category as Carmelo, McGrady and Pierce.

New York Knicks draft Danilo Gallinari with their 6th overall pick in the Draft.

This decision has D’Antoni written all over it from top to bottom. The 6′9”, 212 pound Italian will be sporting a Knicks jersey to being his career in the US, with a great deal of pressure behind him. Gallinari is only 19 years of age but is said to contain all the maturity. Though his body is steps away from being on the NBA level, Gallanari is a consistent shooter with plenty of range. Danilo can become a scoring threat for the Knicks a few years from now with his numerous intangibles. Scouts also say the Italian is a crafty shooter with a knack for scoring the basketball, while also being able to sell a foul call like Ginobili. Danilo Gallinari may not be the perfect for the Knicks just yet, but as the years go through he’ll become a fan favorite once his weapons expand along with his age.

Sacramento makes the bold move in selecting Jason Thompson with their 12th pick.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you, hence the words on the last entry,

“…and please don’t sleep on Jason Thompson. Just don’t.”

I wasn’t at all surprised with Sacramento’s decision to grab what they feel is the right player for the team. Jason Thompson, a 6′11”, 21-year old power forward from Rider University was the best kept secret in the draft. The late bloomer has great fluidity in his footwork and a nice set of low post moves. He’s also a quality defender, something necessary for Sacramento to help Artest.

After drafting Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless, Indiana trades away Bayless and Diogu for Portland’s Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts.

This column has extreme love for Jerryd Bayless. So when the news struck that Bayless was traded to Portland, this immediately turned into a headline. It would’ve certainly been nice to see Bayless turn into a quick NBA start and plump his stats in the traditional basketball place of Indiana, but teaming up with Brandon Roy isn’t bad for an NBA career. Bayless has one of the best pull up jumpers in the game, along with amazing body control, it will be a treat for Portland fans to see this team blossum with Oden coming back next season. The following trade for Indiana made it evident that their primary guard, Jamaal Tinsley is going to be shipped out of Indiana.

New Jersey Nets draft Brook Lopez, eying LeBron, Wade or Bosh in their Brooklyn future?

After trading away a fundamentally skilled Richard Jefferson, the New Jersey Nets received Bobby Simmons, Yi Jianlian and the Bucks draft pick which turned out to be an obvious steal with the acquisition of Brook Lopez. The key theory of this trade for the Nets isn’t focused towards Yi Jianlian’s potential, but the amount of salary cap relief he’ll bring to the Nets in 2010, which is when DWade, ‘Bron and Bosh might be available. The main attraction for the Nets organization would be bringing LeBron to Brooklyn. Such a move would explode the Nets fan base for several years.

Philadelphia drafts Marreese Speights from the University of Florida.

Philadelphia’s choice of Speights was no surprise. I’m incredibly proud of Philadelphia’s decision this year with this one. It looks like Stefanski is a GM with a head on his shoulders, who’s trying to work this team out to be completely successful in every area. The 6′10”, 250 pound forward has a wingspan that could potentially allow him to be a situational center for the Sixers. Speights has a good offensive attack, can work beautifully off pick-and-rolls and brings the adrenaline of Joakim Noah or Reggie Evans, whom the Sixers already posses. Adding another player like this only upgrades the bangers down low for Philly to get dirty.

Off The Wall

The 2008 NBA Draft is only two days away and the mock drafts are mostly in dead set print. Though the top 3 picks are nowhere close to being 100% accurately reassuring, most expert analysts are sticking close to what they already have, which reads, Derrick Rose to Chicago, Michael Beasley to Miami and O.J. Mayo to Minnesota. But let’s spice things up a bit and fall deep into the black hole of NBA rumors that evolve daily.

Feeling the Heat?

The first batch of news that struck my eye effectively was from Miami. It appears as though Shawn Marion will end up being a Miami Heat for the 08-09 season which remains as a huge athletic plus for the Heat. After a pathetic season, resulting in a 15-67 record and a 2nd overall draft pick for Thursday, it appears as though Pat Riley is willing to give away his 2nd draft pick to teams such as the Grizzlies, Clippers, Sonics and the Timberwolves. Apparently the Heat are trying to land a young guard or some sort of a big man with a presence. Something you can’t blame the Heat for, with players like Mark Blount, Chris Quinn and vets like Jason Williams, ‘Zo Mourning who don’t have an assuring time line on how long they’ll be sporting the red and black.

What puzzles me is the near possible chance of Riley’s Miami Heat passing on Michael Beasley, the best player in the 2008 Draft. Yeah, it will take a few, 20 games or so before Beasley gets his feet wet in the NBA, but Michael Beasley has unrealistic intangibles and is a unique player many GM’s would drool over. The mix of athleticism mashed together between Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley could become unmatchable. Players will be able to spread the floor and score the ball more efficiently and quickly than average NBA teams. Yeah, the ironing out of a true point guard to run this squad is a task that would come into affect but it’s a case that’s easier to solve than trying to find another legit big-man in the NBA.

With the league runned by quick, explosive guards and swingmen, it would only be good vibrations for Miami to settle down with the pick they earned after canning the rest of the season with Dwyane getting “fit for the Olympics.” Sure, there’s a brief understanding as to why Riley craved Rose in the Draft but trading away the 2nd pick (aka Beasley) isn’t the best answer. Again, sources include Miami is making the 2nd pick availible to teams with high picks to bring home a young solid guard, along with a 3rd, 4th or 5th pick, to then grab a big guy. All of this, which has its own understanding to it, but doesn’t fall under gaping nor relevant success.

Jermaine O’Neal & Chris Bosh for ‘09?

Chris Bosh already headlines the Toronto Raptors after gripping on the to the leadership role that VC left vacant a few years ago. But the strong rumors screaming J.O. could positively end up in Toronto alongside C4 are eye-gazing. Two, lost-post bangers with all the tools needed down low. And for all those saying, J.O. lost it, you lost your mind. After pulling through eight years in Indiana, 29-year-old, Jermaine O’Neal hasn’t missed a beat in his game and a season in Toronto can help prove this fact.

If this trade were to go through as implied, T.J. Ford and Nesterovic would both be shipped to the Pacers, leaving Toronto with Calderon, who’s proven-out to be a much better overall point guard than T.J. Ford will ever be. Calderon, a 26-year-old guard from Spain has a much better sense of the game, carries vision and perimeter shooting over Ford. While humbly obeying the sequence of time before getting the rotation and expressing his skill, Calderon simply out-balled T.J. Ford out of Toronto. This resulted in Ford’s refusal to play back-up for the Raps, leaving his future elsewhere in the League.

Game Changers

Out of the 60 ball players to be chosen Thursday night, there will only be a set few who will make a definite difference for teams in their rookie year. It’s evident that the first three picks, consisting of Rose, Beasley and Mayo will have their own respectable impact for their struggling teams, but let’s turn face towards other names that will keep the league buzzing.

Whether he’s top 5 or top 10, Jerryd Bayless has the proper tools to make a difference for whatever team he plays for. Top quality for this dude is boldly his scoring presence. Bayless also brings forth an NBA body figure (no homo) to keep himself above water when being matched up with other defensive stoppers.

Secondly, Brook Lopez is one of the few big-men in this draft that has a good-set of moves down low while carrying his 7 foot size. Lopez carries a great understanding of the game and what he has to do to get the ball in the basket for a forty minutes. There are many teams in the league in need of a big man like Lopez, and most likely it’ll have Lopez in good position to have a notable affect on whichever team he plays for.

Another player that have scouts raving is the swingman from West Virginia, Joe Alexander. The 6′8” forward plays the game with high intensity while being able to shoot the ball well. Alexander has the ability to do many things on the floor and his height is only an added feature to what this guy can already bring to the court.

Danilo Gallinari from Italy is said to be a lengthy 6′9” forward version of a Many Ginobili. That’s probably saying too much obviously, but his workouts have yet to prove comparisons wrong. It’s been said that Gallinari has been getting his over in Italy and now it’s time to mix it up with what the NBA has to offer. Other names I don’t want to leave include, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers and please don’t sleep on Jason Thompson. Just don’t.