Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The Bulls Are #1!

Against incredible odds, the Bulls won the rights to make the first pick in the NBA draft on June 26.

The NBA draft lottery is like any other lottery, with ping-pong balls bouncing around randomly to determine the draft order. The worse a team's record was during the regular season, the higher their odds are of getting a top pick.

The Bulls had the 9th worst record overall, which gave them a 1.7% chance of being team #1. By comparison, the Miami Heat had a 25% chance, yet ended up with the 2nd draft pick -- still darn good, but nearly as exciting as Chicago's prospects.

Now the burning question is who they should pick? The consensus top two players are point guard Derrick Rose -- a Chicago native, and forward Michael Beasley.

On paper, Beasley makes the most sense financially and logistically. The Bulls have suffered without a true scoring forward for most of a decade, and have several years' worth of money tied up in two other point guards already.

Still, the grapevine I hear on Beasley is a certain unpredictability in his desire. At the pro level, where things come far less easily than a lesser-regarded midwestern collegiate conference, that can be a recipe for a major drop-off. I vote for the guy who led his team all the way to the national title game, as well as a high school state championship. Oh, and an upset victory against a high school national powerhouse featuring Sports Illustrated's "it" prospect, O.J. Mayo.

Let's make life Rosey!

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