Who will be No. 1? Rose, Beasley are best bets for NBA's next superstar

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published June 24, 2008 at 9:37 p.m.

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Derrick Rose, left, and Michael Beasley are likely to be picked first and second in Thursday's NBA draft - in what order has yet to be determined.

Video: Who will the Nuggets unearth with the 20th pick in the NBA draft? Will the Chicago Bulls go with hometown star Derrick Rose or Kansas State’s Michael Beasley? NBA writer Chris Tomasson breaks down what to expect in Thursday’s draft. Watch »

Charlie Riedel / Associated Press

Former CU guard Richard Roby suffered a broken right hand during a predraft camp.

Paul Sakuma / Associated Press/2007

Stanford's Robin, left, and Brook Lopez might become the first set of twins to be first-round picks in the same draft.

Harken back to 2005. Milwaukee had the top pick in the NBA draft, with Atlanta on deck.

The Bucks sought to decide between center Andrew Bogut and forward Marvin Williams.

The Hawks were ready to pounce on whomever the Bucks didn't take.

So who came out the winner?

Utah and New Orleans.

After Bogut went to Milwaukee and Marvin Williams to Atlanta, the Jazz took point guard Deron Williams at No. 3 and the Hornets selected point guard Chris Paul at No. 4.

Three years later, Deron Williams and Paul are stars and heading for the Olympics. Bogut and Marvin Williams merely are above-average pros.

So that should be a lesson, as Chicago, with Miami on deck, decides whether to take Memphis point guard Derrick Rose or Kansas State forward Michael Beasley with the top pick in Thursday's draft. If Rose is capable of one day being in the same conversation as Deron Williams and Paul, the decision is easy.

"It's easier to find a real good power forward than a real good point guard," said Jazz director of player personnel Walt Perrin. "The two hardest positions to find are center and point guard. If you've got a good point guard, he makes the other four players on the court better. If you've got a good power forward, one or two others are better."

Perrin heavily scouted Deron Williams and Paul before the 2005 draft. He said Rose has what it takes to be in their category.

So the decision is easy, right?

One would think so. But you know how teams are about drafting height.

If the 6-foot-3 Rose is drafted in front of Beasley, listed in college at 6-10, he would be the shortest No. 1 pick since 6-foot Allen Iverson in 1996.

Then again, that little guy turned out OK, didn't he?

Rough and Roby

Richard Roby was pushing off while battling for position at last month's predraft camp in Orlando, Fla., when he felt something in his right hand.

"It was a tough break," Roby said.

Literally.

The University of Colorado shooting guard had suffered a broken right hand in the second of three games he was to play. That ended his camp.

"He was playing pretty well in Orlando, until then," draft analyst Chris Monter said. "It was unfortunate."

Monter said the injury likely will prevent Roby from being a second-round pick. He wasn't able to work out with teams, although he said he went to Seattle for an interview.

"While I couldn't do anything to help my stock, teams have seen me for four years," said Roby, who, hoping to eliminate frustration, said he might not watch the draft. "If I were able to make the NBA, it would be dream come true."

Roby is the half-brother of Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin. While Roby said the Nuggets, who don't have a second-round pick, haven't contacted him, he would have interest in signing with them as a free agent.

"I could definitely knock down some threes for them," said Roby, who averaged 17.9 points as a senior and shot 38.2 percent on three-pointers.

Shrinking man

Kansas State measured Beasley at 6-10.

Was he standing on a calculus textbook?

Each year, there is an incredible shrinking man in the NBA draft. This year, it's Beasley.

He measured just 6-7 without shoes in Orlando. He was 6-81/4 in shoes.

"It's disappointing to find out I'm a midget," Beasley said. "No matter if I'm 5 feet or 8-1, I'm the same player. I didn't know there was a height requirement for the NBA."

It's always intriguing when the NBA releases official height measurements. Some executives wondered whether UCLA forward Love plays in elevator shoes.

Love measured 6-73/4 barefoot. He was 6-91/2 with shoes.

"Does that mean he was wearing orthotics?" Nets president Rod Thorn asked. "It could very well be. How does somebody go up 1 and three-quarter inches?"

Like mother, like son

The draft is full of notable offspring.

Georgetown's Patrick Ewing Jr. is the son of Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing. So what if he isn't likely to get drafted? It's a good story.

Kevin Love,a likely lottery pick, is the son of Stan Love, an NBA and ABA player from 1971 to 1975.

Oregon's Bryce Taylor could be a second-round pick. Father Brian Taylor played in the NBA and ABA from 1972 to 1982, including a 1977-78 stint with the Nuggets.

But Nevada center and likely first-rounder JaVale McGee is best known for his mother. Pam McGee helped lead Southern California to NCAA titles in 1983 and 1984, won an Olympic gold medal in 1984 and played in the WNBA.

While mom got a lot more accolades, JaVale McGee's dad wasn't too shabby, either. Burly George Montgomery played at Illinois and was a second-round pick by Portland in 1985 but never made the NBA.

Montgomery's nickname was "The Strongest Man in the World."

"He didn't get that from his father," quipped Perrin about flagpole-thin JaVale McGee.

It takes two

The Van Arsdales couldn't do it. Neither could the Collinses. The Grants both went in the first round, yet in different drafts.

But the Lopez twins from Stanford are all but certain to both be first-round picks in the same draft. Brook Lopez is a likely lottery pick and Robin has quickly been climbing the draft charts.

"We've joked about ending up on the same team together," Brook Lopez said. "I know the teams with two picks in the first round (Seattle has Nos. 4 and 24 and New Jersey Nos. 10 and 21)."

The Lopez twins can better Tom and Dick Van Arsdale, second-round picks in 1965 from Indiana. But it must be said there were just nine teams then.

The Lopez big men can outpoint the Collins twins, who also attended Stanford. In 2001, Jason went in the first round but Jarron was a second-round pick.

Then there were the Grants, both upper- first-round picks. But because Harvey had a college redshirt season, he went No. 12 in 1988 after Horace had gone No. 10 in 1987.

Totally tubular

See O.J. Mayo get thrown out of a high school game.

Watch a Brook Lopez buzzer beater.

See Russell Westbrook during a workout with Portland.

Sorry, guys, but the best highlights from You Tube.com belong to Love.

Love has an amazing ability to swish shots from the other end of the court, and he has done it more than once. Watch Love do it with chest shots in which he doesn't break a sweat.

But there's more. In a January 2007 high school game, Love shattered a backboard on a dunk. In a YouTube clip, he provides narration.

"Boom. There it is. Shattered glass," Love says. "I kind of broke the glass and kind of was a little bit stunned. . . . This is always something I've always wanted to do."

• June 25, 2008

  7:51 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jjfjules writes:

  thanks Chris
  I enjoyed reading it

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