Right down to the layups in favor of open dunks.

is that Tyrus tends to lose control of the ball around the basket. Sure, he’s athletic and can jump quick and high to swat away shots…but how often have you seen Tyrus swoop in toward the basket and then just fumble the ball away?

Beasley can get the ball to the basket in any number of ways without the ball just flying out of his hands.

He’s right. Tyrus Thomas does struggle AFTER the contact. When he’s got the clear path to the rim get out of his way. You’re going to be in a poster. But if the defenders come over and bruise Thomas they have a real good chance of forcing an awkward shot.

This isn’t to say that Thomas will not improve. Thanks to Boylan, we essentially lost an entire regular season of development with Thomas. We must get a staff together that will actually work with Tyrus. For the same reason the Lakers don’t want to trade Bynum I think the Bulls should have with Tyrus. The kid is special, but you have to be patient with him and work with him. That’s the system. Ready, steady, GO!

Beasley is just a pro AFTER the contact. He takes the bumps and still gathers for a shot. That’s really difficult to teach. It’s got to come from the soul. It starts with “I’m good, but after the contact I’m great.” It’s confidence mainly. Beasley just has piles of the stuff right now. Perhaps too much.

but I get the feeling that whatever their talent level is now, Rose is the type who’ll work to maximize it, whereas Beasley’s the type that’s red flagged for someone who won’t.

He may be grown beyond his “tear me down” inspiration.

The Bulls tried it out several times last year, he’s just not that quick to keep up with some of the SG’s in the league. That lineup has basically no outside shooting (I’m withholding Beasley’s 3 point shot until I see him actually shoot the NBA 3 well), as Deng never takes the shot to keep his FG% high. I doubt Tyrus could guard 2’s, the better ones could easily draw fouls on him.

Paxson won’t trade Kirk just for the sake of it, he’d rather just leave him at the SG spot. Beasley could play the 3 or 4, and the Bulls could keep Tyrus with his cheap rookie contract, and maybe let Deng walk if he’s asking for too much.

...and I came to the exact opposite conclusion: Take Rose. Drafting Beasley is a further investment in Hinrich and Gordon. Drafting Rose is a further investment in Tyrus and Noah. I think we’ve invested enough in Kirk and Ben, and we’ve seen exactly how good they are and how far they can go. It’s time to invest in the two bigs that we’ve drafted the past two seasons.

On the other hand – remember that this Bulls team was so good at the point that Chris Duhon managed to average almost 30 minutes a game, 75 games per season, the last four seasons. There’s more than enough playing time to go around if they draft Rose – it’s actually Larry Hughes and his contract that complicates matters,not Hinrich nor Gordon. But with Beasley they do have to make difficult decisions right away – with Tyrus, Deng, Nocioni, and Thabo.

There are several reasons that people are talking about trading Kirk…
1) He seems to be getting the most interest, and has the best percieved value… Despite coming off of his worst year, national media has reported solid interest from about about ten teams. Many teams are looking for a Point Guard this year, and Kirk is the best point guard available this summer that doesn’t play in Canada. If we take Rose, then Kirk is considered expendable, so many people would like to trade him while his value is high. There is also the theory that his value is bound to go down, because even if he plays better next year, he probably won’t get as many minutes. (although, in response to that, it’s fair to point out that his contract goes down next year, so he will still be considered an attractive point guard option.)

2) Ben Gordon is a restricted free agent… Many people think that we should move Gordon instead of Hinrich. The trouble with that theory is that Ben would have to agree to any trade. We would need to sign him, then trade him. Which obviously makes trading more complicated. Also, there is a poplular opinion that Ben thinks he is worth more money than the rest of the world thinks he is worth.

3) Larry Hughes is a highly paid suckster… Of course Larry Hughes is the biggest stick in the mud. He makes a shitload money, doesn’t do what he’s best at (slashing) and he doesn’t care about winning. That’s exactly why we can’t trade him. Nobody wants him. And if we can trade him, it’s just going to be for somebody else’s terrible, over-paid garbage. And nobody gets excited talking about those trades.

Now, I don’t mind the idea of keeping Kirk around, because I think he is a good player. But I think that the team definitely needs to explore his value right now and see if it can land a player that might give us a better chance to win.

http://www.ncaasports.com/mmod/player

http://www.blogabull.com/2008/6/4/545713/best-of-both-worlds-rose-a

but I don’t think he’ll pull off the move. The Heat have the #2 and cap space. Riley might be able to swing another megadeal. He always seems to. But the Bulls have Kirk and Noc with large contracts and both of these players are perfect for a Pat Riley team. He’s not coaching anymore, but Spoelstra will carry a similar mission next season. Kirk would give them the PG they want. A player that defends and will defer to Wade on offense and then make the cut, run around screens, etc. Noc is that valuable bench player the Heat don’t have. Losing Posey to the Celtics in free agency on the cheap didn’t help matters.

If the Heat are sour on #2 pick we should give them vets and take back the #2. Add in a 3rd team if you want to try and get the Heat a pick later in the lottery. Maybe the Clippers at #7?

He’s got to look like a nice guy. Beasley said the same thing, pointing out how Rose went further in the tourney than he did.

The only answer I would have liked to hear is “I’m not thinking about other players in the draft. I’m going to be in the NBA. I’m thinking about ALL the players in the league.”

In short, defer and redirect the question to something you want to talk about.

BaB’s been on the Melo/Beasley comparison for so long it’s slid off the “recent” list.

As the the Miami swindle, I think there are at least two active threads dealing with that one right now.

He’s been racking up stats against undersized opponents. If they are taller than him his quickness is employed. However, his height and his quickness will both be attacked by NBA defenses. Taller power forwards will front Beasley all day. Whatever team drafts him will have to utilize excellent floor spacing.

I’ll write up a full post about Beasley. Right now I see Beasley falling to the Sonics at #4 unless another club attempts to trade up to get him. I have Rose to the Bulls. Mayo to the Heat. Lopez to the Wolves.