Smells Like A…

If you’re at all familiar with this site, you know that I wish another guy was the first to shake David Stern’s hand.  Derrick Rose is a nice player and I’m certainly happy to have him.  But when you give a mouse a cookie (a #1 overall pick)…

The acquisition of Rose provides a few answers but it raises many more questions.

Can Rose shoot?  Will Rose develop quickly enough?  What will become of Kirk Hinrich?  What will become of Ben Gordon? 

I tried to imagine what would happen if the Bulls picked Rose and where to go from here.  Jeff Goodman at FOXsports raises a few more questions.

“Beasley only measured in at 6-foot-8 and change with shoes and some people were shocked. Are you seriously telling me that an extra inch is the difference between him being worthy of the No. 1 pick?

Guards are far easier to obtain than multi-dimensional frontcourt players who can score inside and out and can pull down double-digit rebounds with frequency. There’s Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams. C’mon, the Boston Celtics won the NBA title this past season with RAJON RONDO running the team.

Rose is unselfish and, while Memphis coach John Calipari would have you believing he’s a leader, he’s not. He’s quiet and had an ideal situation for his lone season in college in which he had upperclassmen such as Antonio Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts to provide the leadership.

Rose is still a ways away — and may never become Paul or Williams. He’s been blessed with physical gifts of a rare combination of speed and athleticism, but he’s not a superb passer.

I don’t want to hear about the fact that Rose took his team further than Beasley.

Put Rose on the Kansas State Wildcats and they don’t even make it to the Big Dance.

Beasley carried his team to the NCAA tournament and even won a game in the Big Dance — all without a bona fide point guard.”

When I talk to my friends, I sound a lot like Goodman.  The thing is that I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.  Almost everyone I talk basketball with in Chicago talks about how Derrick Rose is the obvious first pick.

Could Derrick Rose become Deron Williams?  He could, and that would be fantastic.  Isn’t that a bit of an overstatement of point guard’s values?  I think it’s telling that Magic Johnson was the last point guard taken first in the draft. 

Rondo and Derek Fisher were the point guards in the Finals.  And when push came to shove, Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant handled the ball and set up the offense.  Am I wrong to understate a point guard’s value?

This next point is based solely on watching interviews with Rose on TV or on the internet.  There’s a lot said about how he can provide leadership on a team where a dominant personality is sorely lacking.  Has anyone seen Rose speak?  His sound bites make him seem like a very nice guy.  He seems nice and underspoken.  Isn’t that how Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon are?  Aren’t they all nice guys that “lead by example” as opposed to being a strong personality, asking their teammates to “tell me how my ass tastes?” 

The comments from Jay Bilas and Mark Jackson during the draft perplexed me a little bit.  They kept tagging Bulls players with the “loser” label.  They continued on by talking about how the Rose pick adds much-needed athleticism to the team.

Losers?  Why is it that one bad season discredits all of the momentum and credibility that this young Bulls team had?  This time last year, EVERYONE was talking about how the Bulls were an Eastern Conference contender.  EVERYONE. 

People are fickle.  They are especially fickle with their sports team.  However, let’s try to keep a bit of an even-keel here or at least work on collective memory lapses.

Luol Deng played the exact same role in leading Duke to the national championship game.  He was a touted freshmen that gave his team a much-needed dynamic.  Kirk Hinrich led his team to consecutive Final Four appearances.  Hinrich did this with Nick Collison draped over his pasty back.  Ben Gordon actually won a national championship for a UConn team rated much like Rose’s Memphis Tigers.

Rose is a successful and talented player.  But was his pick better than a selection to address a gaping hole in the low post?  That need has been festering since Elton Brand left the Chi and John Paxson decided that we’ll have to wait a little longer.

I have never second-guessed a John Paxson draft pick (I came pretty close with the Aaron Gray pick but I gave Pax kudos for drafting a big).  However, when the Derrick Rose pick was announced, I stayed stoic and sipped my beer.  After the Heat selected Michael Beasley, my brother and I started clapping.  I’m excited to watch the Heat play and that’s not a feeling I want after my team selects first.