NBA draft time baby.............

I have decided to become more of an NBA fan. I am not sure how long that will last, but right now I am as big a fan as you are gonna find...........
So I figured, as the NBA gets ready for their draft tonight, let me lay out for you how I would make the picks for this upcoming draft:

1.) Chicago - Michael Beasley
The consensus is Derrik Rose. Fine. The kid is great. He has some exceptional skills. He has a real killer attitude. But, seriously, what have the Bulls needed now for YEARS???? They need a powerful big man.
Okay, Beasley isn't 7 foot. I get that. But he is 6'8" or 6'9", powerful, athletic, a great jumper, a good rebounder, and an incredibly skilled inside scorer.
The Bulls have Kirk Henrich and Ben Gordon. The Bulls have Larry Hughes and Andres Nocioni. They have PLENTY of guard play. They even have the perfect "do all the little things" player in Joahkim Noah and the freak, jump-out-of-the-arena athlete in Tyrus Thomas. Those are PERFECT guys for good teams. They aren't good for bad teams and they aren't go-to guys. But say you take Beasley. You now have your scoring, rebounding power forward. You have your scoring small forward in Loul Deng. You have your scoring two guard in Ben Gordon. If you get a bounce back year from Kirk Henrich and only ask Noah to do the little things, like defense and rebounding, your team is terrific. With Derrick Rose, you need to package one or more of your excess guards for an available big man or you are in the same boat. Derrick Rose isn't making Drew Gooden a great player. Sorry, he isn't.
Beasley is the smart play and it won't be made.

2.) Miami - Derrick Rose

Makes perfect sense for Miami. They have the great two guard, star scorer in Wade. They have a good player in Marion. Add a potential star point guard to that mix and Riley would be only one good low post player and a few role players away from, again, having one of the best teams in the East.
Rose makes more sense for Miami just like Beasley makes more sense for Chicago. It fits a need.
What kills me is hearing people talk about Rose as the obvious number 1. Why? Is Derrick Rose that much better than a guy who outperformed Kevin Durant in his freshman season?
Listen, I think both of these guys will be great. There is no shame in being the second pick. The fact is, Rose FITS the Heat better. He isn't an added part. He walks right in as the starting point guard who will share scoring duties with Wade.

3.) Minnesota - Kevin Love

I am not a huge Kevin Love fan, but he is tough, he is a good rebounder, he can shoot from the outside, and I think he would be a great compliment to Al Jefferson. Now, Love isn't a HUGE guy, but he is a very wide body that knows how to score around the rim. I think Love will be a very good NBA player. He might not be an All Star, but he is gonna be a very good player, and Jefferson will be the "go to" big man anyway. Love fits in nicely with a team that has a lot of perimeter players and another very good low post scorer. Besides, everyone acts as if the NBA is filled with 7 foot beasts. The league, at the center and power forward positions, are smaller now than before.

4.) Seattle - Russel Westbrook

There are no big men in this draft, besides Kevin Love, who has any real value, in my opinion. Did anyone actually watch the Lopez brothers? These are nice players but they aren't game changers and the Sonics need more game changers.
Westbrook would be a point guard in the making as it isn't his natural role, but he took on the role towards the end of the season at UCLA last year and recieved rave reviews. He has a lot of natural talent, is a tenacious defensive player, is a slasher, a hard worker, and if he can get the ball to Durant and Jeff Green in the right spots, he would be an immediate asset to the club.
Yes, the Sonics need a big man. But there are none out there right now. They also need a point guard and Westbrook has the most upside, by far.

5.) Memphis - Danilo Gallinari

The Italian player would be a good fit in Memphis, adding another scorer to pair with Rudy Gay. He has a lot of different tools, could be a Manu Ginobli caliber type of player, brings a level of intensity the Grizzlies would need, and he would fit right in as the second option. Here is the thing, as bad as the Grizz were last year, they have some pieces. Gay can be a star. Mike Connely can be a very, very good point guard. Hakim Warrick is a hard worker who does the grunt work. What they needed was a second scoring option and Gallinari would be that guy.

6.) New York - OJ Mayo

This is a perfect fit for Mayo, for the Knicks, for the NBA. Mayo is a very, very good player. He has a terrific personality. He has a star feel to him. You can begin the long process of building a team around him.
Because this is soooo good for everyone involves, chances are it won't happen.

7.) LA Clippers - Eric Gordon

I think Gordon could be a very nice fit for the Clippers. He isn't a natural point guard, but the Clippers, with Shaun Livingston now back, healthy, and improving daily, would only have to be a solid scorer and he should be able to do that. He has a great jump shot, can get to the rim, has a killer streak in him, and is, by all accounts, a great leader.

8.) Milwaukee - DJ Augustin

The Bucks traded for Richard Jefferson on draft day, meaning that their need for a forward diminished and their need for a point guard, to get the ball to scorers Michael Redd, Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, becomes the priority. Augustin gets knocked because of his size (5'11") but Jameer Nelson isn't much taller, if any taller, and he has been successful so far in the league because he isn't expected to be the go-to guy. On the Bucks, Augustin would be expected to distribute. He can do that with the best of them.

9.) Charlotte - Joe Alexander

I love this pick for the Bobcats. Alexander would be a guy Larry Brown loves. He is gonna score. He can pass. He is smart, even though he is still somewhat learning the game. Now, the Bobcats have Adam Morrison, but Morrison is just a bust. The Cats better realize this and scrap the Morrison experiment or try and find someone else to take on the Morrison stache.