you can put on Garnett’s motivation to his teammates. But there is something to be said about your best player always putting in his best effort. We have many documented years of watching Pierce and Ray Allen not committing to defense. That they should both decide to turn their habits around in the same year as they are teamed with KG seems a bit too coincidental. I think that Rodman is another example of someone being held in check for the most part with Jordon on court.

The young bulls do hustle. It showed from the start (even as I saw them lose the first 9 games 4 years ago) 3 years is not a fluke. Last year held a lot of issues for this young team. I think it foolish to believe that they no longer have the same (or better) skills coming into next year. Adding another motivated AND frankly higher skilled player to the mix who not only works to make his team better, but can actually deliver (yes Rose) only means that this team will get back deep into the playoffs again.

Having said that and having watched the Celtics championship run this year, I don’t feel that our young bigs are strong enough/skilled enough just yet to keep up with the top defensive teams in a 7 game series. But I think with an inspirational top pick in Rose, we get this team (in particular Tyrus and Noah) into a more cohesive and effective group then we have yet seen.

Beasley just doesn’t seem like a team player to me. I don’t need another Ben Wallace attitude in the group holding this organization hostage because of his superior skills.

Rose may not be that outspoken (and I think that bodes well with our core of deng gordan and hinrich) but he has not shown himself to be a distraction either.

Winning solves a lot of issues. With a top athlete joining our already very good squad, I can’t help but see a very successful year for the bulls.

a Carmelo Anthony. I know he wants to and dominate on offense. A burning desire to score rarely translates to winning, especially if it isn’t accompanied by a similar desire to dominate on defense. I’m looking for a player that has a desire to dominate on defense and is willing to sacrifice on offense, stepping up to score when needed. I believe the great championship winning stars have done this. I don’t know if that’s Rose. But, there have at least been signs that Rose could be a\that kind of player. He clearly sacrificed his own game for the team and was there for his team in the big games. He at least talks about defense and worked to improve defensively last season even though he isn’t a great defender by any means right now.

I haven’t seen any evidence that Beasley wants to dominate on defense or sacrifice on offense. He may want to dominate on defense, but he doesn’t talk about it. He may be willing to sacrifice on offense with better teammates, but it’s an unknown. It’s much easier for me to place faith in Rose’s desire to dominate on defense and sacrifice on offense.

But the single most disturbing thing about Beasley’s attitude/character, by far, is his continued insistence that he’s never done anything wrong. He remains completely unwilling to acknowledge prior mistakes, and I can’t explain in words how much this bothers me, and how much I believe it speaks to his personal character.

i can’t help thinking that paxson will take rose for all of the reasons we expect.
1. great college team.
2. great college program.
3. highly regarded college coach.
4. led a team that went deep into the ncaa tourney.

i feel like it is very hard to choose between beasley and rose. they both have a ton of upside. they both are incredible talents. they both have question marks…so, when paxson looks at all the information and realizes that you probably can’t go wrong with either one, he’ll fall back on these points and feel more confident taking rose.

only when it backs whatever argument you’re trying to make at the time. Just cause Derrick Rose is a nice, soft-spoken kid, why is everyone just assuming that he’s gonna have the neccessary drive to be a great, winning player? He could just as easily be soft and not up to the challenge and flame out after a few seasons, meanwhile Beasley could turn into a funny, flamboyant, dominating, superstar with a chip on his shoulder. These kids are 19 frickin years old and I find this post totally unneccessary because all this character talk is crap, nobody knows how these guys will react when the bright lights are shining on them. All of this pop-psychology talk is lame. And everyone that keeps talking about Rose being a winner at every level is lame too. Chances are if you’re a top 5 pick in the NBA you’ve been a winner your whole life. Just cause one guy has a better team and wins a few more games in a tournament doesn’t say jack about who will be better in the long run.

We need to draft Beasley because he is the best player in the draft. I am not buying this “character issues” nonsense. The guy is 19 years old for Christ’s sake, 19! He is not a criminal, he is being accused of being a teenager.
Pax should grow some balls and draft the NBA’s dominant force (together with LeBron) for the next 10 years and not do the safe thing once again i.e draft the college “nice” kid with the hard work ethic. We have already paid dearly for Pax’s indecisiveness on a number of occasions (KG, Pau etc.).
A lot will depend on how the Bulls organisation molds and develops Beasley. He brings the raw talent and VDN & Pax have to direct him. They should not shy away from doing their jobs by drafting the player that will give them the less hassle, that’s called cowardice NOT management.

very good article that interviews mike beasley’s k-state head coach. it pretty much contradicts A LOT of what we thought about his character. IMO-—-—-—->http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/martin_080623.html

also here’s my fav youtube mike beasley vid, watch it it’s pretty amazing.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DpyAf0Iz6UY

[When asked about the present Cavs roster]

“This is Ricky Davis’ team.”

Ricky Davis was traded midway through the 03-04 season.

Real estate brokers are flooding Kirk Hinrich’s inbox with sales proposals.

I only hope that Paxson/Reinsdorf aren’t.

Beasley is the vastly superior player. Rose has no special abilities at all. He isnt a great passer! He isnt a great shooter! He isnt a great steals guy! C’mon.

Yes, Rose is from Chicago. Yes, he is a nice guy. Yes, his team went deeper in the NCAAs. Yes, I like him as a person. But unless you are trying to convert the Bulls into the new “Luvable Losers”, since the Cubs seem to be shucking that moniker, those are not reasons to draft him. None of that changes that he is an inferior player to Beasley.

The media took one look at the two of them and immediately wrote the big talented head case vs smart quick good guy stories. It was an obvious angle to take, even when the character issues turn out to be fluff. Even when the smart guy doesnt pass all that well, and isnt quick enough to get steals. They had their angle and it echoed around as most writers just rephrase what they read other people write.

And now the fans believe. You say you don’t believe in this character stuff mostly, but in a situation with a 19 year old rookie draft pick you think it matters? That is the last place it matters. You get leadership from your veterans, not your kids. You know that. Shake the cobwebs from your eyes.

Go Bulls!

Marcus Fizer???

Think about how everyone talked up Marcus Fizer’s game around draft time, and didn’t he come to us with like the number 4 pick? He too came shorter than advertised, had kind of an attitude, and got used by NBA bigs more often than not. This is what worries me about any Forward coming out of the draft, they are almost NEVER the franchise player on a team with only a few notable exceptions (Brand, Garnett, Gasol, etc.)...so is Beasley really Brand or Garnett good? I’m not sold…at all. Especially since we already have a really good scoring forward who hustles in Drew Gooden.

I’ve just been thinking about it after reading something on ESPN today about how Beasley is the far superior player…

I’d much rather roll the dice with Rose, personally.