Michael Beasley is 6-foot-7; could he fall to Wolves?
Posted on June 18th, 2008 – 12:41 PMBy Michael Rand
An internet rumor perhaps being fueled entirely by Stu says the Miami Heat are considering passing on Michael Beasley in favor of O.J. Mayo. Wait, it’s not just Stu anymore! The Chicago Bulls measured Beasley at 6-foot-7 (he’s generally been listed at 6-9 or even 6-10), leading Dan Shanoff to speculate that not only would the Bulls certainly be passing on Beasley in favor of Derrick Rose with the No. 1 overall pick, but that the height discrepancy would be enough for Miami to make the plunge and take Mayo at No. 2. Writes Shanoff:
Prediction: Forget the Bulls taking him at No. 1; and the size thing is all the pretext that the Heat’s Pat Riley will need to draft O.J. Mayo at No. 2, ahead of Beasley. (Never mind that plenty of great players were awkwardly sized; no one seems to think that Beasley has that kind of greatness in him. Fools.)
This of course bears watching here because the Wolves own the No. 3 pick and would then almost certainly nab Beasley. As Stu notes, “Please let this be true.” The smart money is still on the “blowing smoke” theory, by which Pat Riley is directing his exhales toward the posterior crevices of basketball folks everywhere and really intends on taking Beasley or Rose no matter what. That said, it does add an element of danger to the Wolves possibly trading down into the 5-8 range — a move we favor provided they can still snag Kevin Love while getting another piece along the way. There would be nothing worse than the Wolves making a seemingly cunning deal, only to watch Beasley slip to No. 3 and no longer have a shot at him. All of this makes draft night even more intriguing — and not just for the awkwardly dressed players.
9 Responses to "Michael Beasley is 6-foot-7; could he fall to Wolves?"
Oh, this is totally a Stu-ruse to get us all to screw up our RandBall Mock Drafts. Did Shanoff go to St Cloud State?
It doesn’t matter who we get. We’ll just end up screwing up his game in the end anyway.
Spencer Tollackson, baby. Write it in ink.
Do you really think we’re going to make it through two drafts without an awkward, white “big man” project?
We’re clearly going for both Lopez twins.
Kevin Love in the first round and some fuzzy foreign projects in the second.
I’ve been leaning towards Kevin Love for a while. Someone tell me why we shouldn’t draft him?
I have a well-placed source close to McHale who let me in on McHale’s draft plan:
First Hoiberg will issue a press release saying Beasley was measured at only 6′4″. Then McHale will issue a press release saying, in light of Beasley’s height and the overriding importance of big men in the NBA, he wants to trade up for Kevin Love, fearing Love won’t be on the board at #3.
Riley, knowing McHale is a draft genius, will beat McHale to the punch, swap picks with Chicago and draft Love. The Chicago brain trust, knowing what genius’ Riley and McHale are, will take Brook Lopez at #2. McHale will then take Beasley and claim the original 6′4″ report was a typo. Seattle will take Rose and move to Oklahoma. Mayo - who will be in jail - falls to Memphis.
Totally makes sense. But here’s the kicker. After Boston, with the last pick of the first round, takes Dutch PF Henk Norel. McHale will immediately trade Beasley to Boston for Norel and Boston’s next three second round picks. McHale will then claim Norel was the guy they wanted all along.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Henk-Norel-1156/
This is all contingent on it being a smokescreen and McHale doesn’t actually trade up to get Kevin Love. I know he’s high on Love (who isn’t), but not even McLovin would do that. And I’m really excited about this Norel guy. They say he’s the next Rik Smits.
There’s no way the Wolves trade down before they find out who the Heat take.
I’m a little leery of Mr. Love - if playing on a big-time UCLA program with a shot at a college championship wasn’t enough to whip him in to (peak) shape, what are the odds that he’ll be staying on his $60 a day diet when the Wolves are back in the lottery next year?
That said, I love the idea of him grabbing a board and hitting Corey Brewer with a wicked transition pass for a quick dunk! (Man I hope Brew is hitting the protein shakes like crazy this summer).
Go Wolves!!
Rand
The Wolves can’t trade their pick before the draft. They actually can’t trade the pick at all. They can draft a player another team wants and then trade that player but they can’t just trade the pick before they make a selection. So there is a 0% chance of the Wolves trading before they see who is available.
Next time you want to talk about the NBA Draft please consult with me first so that I can check your post for errors.
