Miami Heat/ NBA Draft

[gocowboys31]

Is Pat Riley going to be stupid enough to pass on Beasley if the bulls select Derrick Rose. O.J. Mayo are you kidding me. Riley you're going to turn down a power forward who scored 26pts, averaged 12 rebounds in the big 12. He maybe smokescreening, but i can see riley getting cute and outhinking himself and drafting mayo.

I can't wait until 8:30 tonight, because if riley blows this one the k-9's will be out in droves.

[JVides]

Nah, he'll draft Beasley.  He might then trade him for cap space in '09, a player, and a #3 - #7 overall pick somewhere, but won't pass him up outright. 

[DolFan619]

  Odds are the Heat will still draft Beasley.  Miami needed Rose much more than it needed Beasley, but the talent is there.  Might as well take it.

[TEKGOD]

It's not going to happen. MIA will draft Beasley. If we acquire Mayo it will be thru some trade agreement but no way do we pass up the #1 rated player in the country because Riley knows he will be ran out of town with pitchforks if he does

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

Riley would be a moron to pass up on Beasley!!!!!

[DolFan619]

  Rest easy, Heat fans.  Miami went with Beasley.  He wasn't Miami's greatest need, but he was the best talent available.  Hard to pass up on a guy, like Michael Beasley.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

DONNIE WALSH, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!!  YOU KNOW YOU NEEDED A POINT GUARD AND A CENTER BECAUSE STEPHON MARBURY AND EDDY CURRY DON'T DO SHIT.  ERIC GORDON, JERRID BAYLESS AND BROOK LOPEZ FALL INTO YOUR LAP AND YOU DRAFT THIS CLUSTERFUCK SMALL FORWARD FROM OVERSEAS!!!!!!

I HOPE YOUR ASS ENDS UP LIKE ISAIAH THOMAS YOU FUCKING LOSER!!!!!!!!!

[Fau Teixeira]

he's a power forward i thought

[DolFan619]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-flspheatspec27sbjun27,0,4244027.story

Miami Heat 'blown away' by Beasley; adds Chalmers

By IRA WINDERMAN
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

11:51 PM EDT, June 26, 2008

MIAMI - Perhaps the Heat didn't lose the lottery, after all.

It certainly didn't seem that way Thursday, based on the reception both from the team's front office and the fans at center court at AmericanAirlines Arena.

At No. 2 in Thursday NBA Draft, it could be argued the Heat got the draft's No. 1 talent.

Moments after the Chicago Bulls opened the draft by selecting Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, a player taken as much for need as value, the Heat followed by taking Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley at No. 2.

"In my mind, and in our mind, there was no question we feel he was the best talent in the draft," Heat President Pat Riley said. "It's not important whether he's the best fit."

After weeks of over-the-top trade speculation, Riley said he took Beasley to keep Beasley.

"What's unique about him is he really is a competitor on the court," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You put him between those lines, he's going after it."

While point guard also is a significant need for the Heat, thus the initial remorse over losing out on the opportunity for Rose, talent, for a team that finished a league-worst 15-67, ultimately trumped all other considerations.

That included the temptations to trade down for a lesser pick in a package that included veteran talent. That speculation was heightened earlier this week, when the team brought in Southern Cal guard O.J. Mayo and Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless for workouts. Among the veterans linked to the Heat were Grizzlies forward Mike Miller, Sonics forward Chris Wilcox and Clippers forward Elton Brand.

"But, in the end, Randy Pfund and Chet Kammerer and Adam Simon, the people who I listen to about personnel more than anybody else, got me in a room and made sure that Mr. Beasley was going to be part of the Miami Heat," Riley said of his personnel advisors. "I don't think there was any question on our part. We love Michael. He's an incredible athlete. He's a great scorer."

Beasley, though, was uncertain until his name was called.

"With the trade rumors, I really didn't know where I would end up," he said. "I tried not to pay attention to any of it. But it's there and it wouldn't go away."

The Heat then added Kansas point guard Mario Chalmers, who was drafted by Minnesota with the fourth pick in the second round, in exchange for two future second-round picks and cash.

Chalmers, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Final Four, is known for his defensive grit and shooting.

The Heat rounded out its night by selecting 6-8 Kansas forward Darnell Jackson with the No. 52 pick.

As for the Beasley decision, Spoelstra, about to start his first season as coach, said that was the night's easy part.

"In the last couple of days," he said, "we felt very comfortable if he was available."

In Beasley, the Heat landed the nation's leading rebounder and No. 3 scorer, a package of talent, vitality and childlike joy.

While perceived maturity issues might have cost the gregarious 19-year-old a shot at being the top overall selection, he might find himself as comfortably positioned as any of Thursday's 60 draft choices, given the opportunity to match his interior artistry with the perimeter brilliance of Heat guard Dwyane Wade.

The boisterous crowd at the team's draft party roared its approval upon Beasley's selection.

Riley said work remains.

"We needed a lot of holes filled and we still do," he said, acknowledging he bypassed a trade that would have cost Beasley at the gain of rounding out his lineup with two starters.

In Beasley, the Heat at least gets an answer to its frontcourt scoring void.

While not necessarily a post-up presence, and perhaps a bit undersized after measuring in at the Orlando draft camp at 6 feet 8-3/4, Beasley nonetheless consistently displayed an ability to score inside and rebound during his lone season with the Wildcats.

"They're getting a great player, a hard worker, a good rebounder, just a fun-loving guy off the court -- I think every team needs that," Beasley said.

Named National Player of the Year for 2007-08 by The Sporting News, the first-team All-America and Big 12 Player of the Year also received the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Beasley led Division I in rebounding at 12.4 per game and finished third in scoring at 26.2 points. His three 40-point games led the nation, as did his 28 double-doubles, which broke the Division I freshman record held by Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony.

Former Knicks and Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, the ESPN analyst, went as far as to call Beasley a "Hall of Fame talent."

[DolFan619]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-flsphyde27pnjun27,0,6184674.column

Heat got its man, and a character to boot

Dave Hyde
Sports Columnist

12:16 AM EDT, June 27, 2008

NEW YORK - He put hot sauce in his 4-year-old sister's meal at a Thursday luncheon with NBA Commissioner David Stern. And then laughed when her mouth turned to broil. And his mom couldn't reprimand him because, well, "it was a dignified affair," she said.

Does that help? Does that begin to tell about the new sports personality coming to town? Because when the smoke cleared Thursday night, when the rumors died, when the music stopped and Michael Beasley officially was heading to the Heat and not Seattle or Milwaukee or Memphis or …

"Mars," Beasley said.

Mars?

"I heard every place else," he said. "I got to where I was expecting the worst. I was surprised [the Heat] took me."

He pulled the Heat cap down over his face and shook his head.

"I'm worn out," he said.

Easy, Beasley.

Ultimately, that was Heat President Pat Riley's decision with the second overall pick. He was the best player in college. He's a guy who can help anchor the franchise for 15 years. He was the simple, deserving, natural pick.

And now comes the natural question: Just who is Michael Beasley? That's where it gets trickier. He's not a stick figure. He's not so-serious Alonzo Mourning or so-polished Dwyane Wade. You can't box him in off the court, just like you can't on it. The answer depends on where you look.

Look there, up in the balcony at Madison Square Garden, were more than 100 kids and coaches who rode the bus five hours from Washington, D.C., to be at the draft. They were part of the league Beasley played in as a kid. They wore Beasley T-shirts. They chanted his name before the draft.

"Michael brought us here on his own dime," youth-league coach Ronald Johnson said.

Or look there, at the table beside Beasley's family. There's Bob Huggins. He recruited Beasley to Kansas State before leaving to coach West Virginia. He heard the whispers of how Beasley is young, which he accepted, and doesn't have a passion for the game, which he didn't.

"That's crazy," he said.

Here are two stories Huggins told when Heat general manager Randy Pfund called him:

• In the summer before his senior year in high school, Beasley was an All-Star at an AAU Tournament. He then was the All-Star game's MVP. Huggins, hot on the hunt, called him the day he arrived at his home. He wasn't there.

"He was out on the playground, playing basketball," he said.

• At another California camp, Huggins was watching Beasley score and pass and use those great hands. He didn't see one thing, though. He text-messaged one of the coaches: "Can he block shots?"

"I hadn't seen him block a shot in a few days I was there," he said.

The next scrimmage, Beasley blocked eight shots in the first half.

"After the eighth one, he ran by me and winked," he said.

He can be funny like that. And trying. And that's got to be that part that Riley, who died a little with each loss in his prime, must find confounding.

"He's 19," Huggins said. "And he acts his age. Some of these other guys …"

He waved to the tables around him of other draftees.

"Some of them would do well to act their age. There's nothing wrong with laughing or joking when you're a kid."

Or teasing his mom about her haircut. Or pulling a regular prank on friends. Or putting hot sauce in his young sister's meal at the commissioner's luncheon.

The Heat's newest pick, meanwhile, has big plans for the years ahead. He wants to have instant impact. He hopes for a championship team and an All-Star career. He went from camera to camera late into the evening Thursday.

"I want to get in Dwyane Wade's Fave 5," he said.

"I'd better get a rain coat, because last time I was there, it rained a lot," he said.

Get ready, South Florida. The Heat got the pick it needed. And it's a different personality than the Heat is accustomed to having. The early scouting report: Scores a lot. Rebounds a lot. Demands teammates hire a taste tester for meals.

[BingeBag]

I read in one of the myriad of Palm Beach Post articles that Pat Riley said he could see Haslem starting at Center next year. I hope he is kidding.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

he's a power forward i thought

He's got the height of a power forward, but plays small forward.  In other words, he's like Dirk Nowitski, and that is not what this team needs right now.

[Fau Teixeira]

he can't be any worse than who they have

[TEKGOD]

YES!!! This gives MIA a great inside-outside offense. He's a little undersized but still crashes the boards & is a double/double every night. He's being compared to a young Charles Barkley. If he's half that I'll take it...
We also get another banger in Jackson, if we can get a rotation between him & Haslem coming off the bench to get some fresh rebounds then we be rollin

As for the Knicks... mamma mia!!! haha Can we say Cam Cameron all over again? Jerryd Blayless jaw must have hit the floor when he wasn't called. That's OK I revel in the Knicks misery

Best draft day has to go to the Nets. They get Lopez falling to the lap after already acquiring Yi so they now have twin towers at the front court.

[gocowboys31]

As for the Knicks... mamma mia!!! haha Can we say Cam Cameron all over again? Jerryd Blayless jaw must have hit the floor when he wasn't called. That's OK I revel in the Knicks misery

Best draft day has to go to the Nets. They get Lopez falling to the lap after already acquiring Yi so they now have twin towers at the front court.

Boy the knicks are a disaster. How do you select an Italian who plays zero defense. What is the fascination with these european players? Other than Ginobilli and Dirk who's really been a difference maker. Alexander, Bayless, Gordon, or Augustin would've been better selections. I don't see gallinari making the type of unstant impact you need from a number #6 pick.

The nets racked up. Lopez and they added CDR in the second round, but more importantly they cleared alot of cap room for Lebron James two years from now. Rod Thorn along with Kiki were the clear winners last night.

Come on knick fans let's here it ......DANILOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GALLINARRRRRRRNI!!! LOL.