Rose OK in Summer League Debut
Bulls fan got their first glimpse of Derrick Rose in NBA action in yesterday’s summer league game against the Miami Heat. Rose, the first overall pick in the 2008 draft, was noticeably timid in the first half and it appeared as if his humble demeanor might have had him deferring to his teammates too much. He fared better in the second half and finished with 10 points and four assists. The second overall pick, Michael Beasley, dominated the game offensively, finishing with 28 points and nine rebounds.
Yes, Beasley looked great and Rose was lackluster, but keep in mind that this is summer league. The Heat won the game 94-70, but again, this is less important than a preseason game. There are bound to be premature cries that the Bulls made the wrong call in drafting Rose over Beasley. It’s way too early to make an assessment on these two guys at this point. Also, keep in mind that Rose was being guarded by defensive ace and fellow rookie Mario Chalmers and the Memphis product’s knee was not 100 percent. Beasley was matched up against underachievers Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas and has his way with them. There is no question that Beasley outshined Rose in their first matchup, but be wary of jumping to conclusions after one measly summer league game.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
Rose to Make Summer League Debut Today
Bulls brass will get their first look at the number one overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft in a Bulls uniform when Derrick Rose suits up in his first summer league game today. The game happens to be against the Miami Heat, who held the second selection in the draft and used it to take Kansas State forward Michael Beasley. Rose will be given the keys to the summer league team, just as he’s expected to be given the keys to the full squad when the regular season begins.
I’d expect Rose to impress in the summer league. The league’s talent is better than that of the collegiate ranks, but is comparable to the D-league. Rose’s quickness and athleticism should allow him to abuse just about anyone who’s assigned to guarding him. Today, he’ll surely get some head-to-head time against Mario Chalmers, the same player that dashed his national title hopes in the NCAA championship game in April. The summer league isn’t the best environment to completely evaluate a player, but it is an opportunity to assess the player. Beasley is more likely to outshine Rose from a statistical standpoint, but Rose is all about winning and usually gets the job done.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
Rose to Square Off Against Beasley
The Chicago Bulls will get their first look at number one draft pick Derrick Rose when the Orlando Summer League begins on July 7th. The debate surrounding whether the Bulls made the right decision by taking Rose over Kansas State forward Michael Beasley is bound to rage for years, but the head-to-head matchups between the two will begin right away. The Bulls’ first summer league opponent is the Miami Heat, the team that took Beasley with the second overall pick in the draft.
There were a lot of people outside of Chicago that were calling for the Bulls to take Beasley, and, according to Bulls GM John Paxson, the team didn’t make a final decision on who to draft until draft day. Most fans in the windy city were calling for Rose because he’s a Chicago native, but there were still some people that were enamored with Beasley’s monster freshman season. Summer league games are a way to get a first look at some rookies, but the results are often misleading. Many a player has put up huge numbers in the summer league, ala Marcus Banks, only to become a mediocre or sub-par NBA player. The competition in the summer league is comparable to that of the D-league, so don’t take this first head-to head matchup between the number one and number two pick too seriously. It should be fun to watch though.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
Bulls Look to Keep Deng, Gordon
The Chicago Bulls seem likely to retain the services of guard Ben Gordon and forward Luol Deng after neither received an offer sheet from another team on the first day of free agency. The players will likely command two of the bigger contracts in free agent market and the few teams that could afford an offer are not likely to make one. The 76ers are focused on Josh Smith and Elton Brand, while the Clippers just made a big offer to Baron David. The Grizzlies aren’t going to spend any money and the rest of the league just can’t afford sizeable contract offers.
The Bulls are definitely trying to keep Luol Deng and probably see him as one of the centerpieces of their team, along with Derrick Rose, for years to come. Gordon is much more expendable. While many are predicting that the acquisition of Derrick Rose will force Kirk Hinrich out of town, there is a possibility that the Bulls could let Gordon move on. But GM John Paxson has declared that signing the two four-year veterans is the team’s number one priority. Paxson also mentioned that, after securing the two players to deals, the Bulls could be in search of a moderately-priced big man who could provide some scoring in the low post.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
Bulls Surrounding Del Negro With Experience
The Bulls have begun to round out their coaching staff, hiring Bernie Bickerstaff and Bob Ociepka as assistants to head coach Vinnie Del Negro. Del Harris, Bob Hill and Paul Westphal are names that are circulating as candidates for the staff as well. The Bulls are playing it smart here by hiring experienced guys to help Vinnie Del Negro in his first season as a coach on the pro level. Bickerstaff has been a head coach four times and Ociepka bring 18 years of assistant coaching experience to the table.
Guys who have been there before and know the ropes should greatly aid Del Negro in his transition to the sidelines, but Del Negro also has to establish himself as someone the players respect. He’s got to come in on day one and preach accountability and hard work to a team that basically quit on Scott Skiles last season. He’s got one of the brightest young stars in the league in Derrick Rose and, if they re-sign Luol Deng, should have two really nice pieces to build around. They’ve got the talent to be a playoff team this year in the East, but, as last year showed, talent needs leadership.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
Free Agency Begins Tomorrow
Now that the draft has passed and the Bulls got their man in Derrick Rose, the team will have to make some decisions concerning their free agents. Both Luol Deng and Ben Gordon will become restricted free agents tomorrow, meaning the Bulls have the opportunity to match any offer either player receives from another team. Deng declined a $57.5 million extension from the Bulls in October and Gordon rejected a five year deal worth $50 million last summer.
In retrospect, both of these contractual moves look like mistakes. There is no way Gordon is going to receive an offer like the aforementioned one this time around. He’s an undersized two-guard who can do little else besides score. He’s also incredibly streaky and seems to struggle in a starting role, though he’s often clamoring for one. But this is NBA free agency, and it always seems like at least one team is willing to take a chance on almost any player, so Gordon may get an offer for a big contract, though the Bulls wouldn’t be likely to match it. Deng is the player more likely to be wearing a Bulls uniform next season. He and Rose should be the cornerstones of the franchise, and I think the Bulls need to match any reasonable offer Deng might receive. Deng may or may not receive a deal similar to the one offered to him last fall, but the Bulls need to do whatever they can to keep him unless he receives a max offer from someone. He’s only 23 and has already had some very productive seasons.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
Coming Up Roses
Welcome to the Derrick Rose era! Bulls fans rejoice; you got the best player in the draft. There was little question leading up to last night’s NBA draft that the Bulls would select the Memphis point guard, but when he was picked there a sense that something special had occurred. The hometown kid returns to Chicago to help reenergize a team that was generally lackluster last season.
Bulls fans should be very excited about Derrick Rose. This kid is the best point guard prospect since Chris Paul. Rose is going to be asked to come in right away, despite John Paxson’s coy remarks last night, and play a prominent role. He’s going to make other players around him better and provide instant leadership. This is a kid who only lost one game last year and is used to winning. His work ethic and drive are bound to rub off on his teammates. The Bulls used their second round pick on Arkansas shooting guard Sonny Weems, who was one of the best athletes in the draft, but is yet another guard. The Bulls are going to have to figure out what they’re going to do with their glut of guards. No matter what, they’ve got a heck of a player in Rose.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
The Draft is Tonight!
Tonight is the night that Bulls fans have been waiting for; it’s the 2008 NBA Draft. With most draft experts saying that Rose is the player that Chicago will select, the Bulls would be adding a blue chip prospect. Rose, the super athletic point guard out of Memphis, will give the Bulls a true floor general and should help facilitate the offense. The team has struggled to score at times, even in years they’ve made the playoffs, but Rose’s passing ability and court vision should really help other players. He’s probably the most athletic point guard I’ve ever seen. His ability to blow by defenders and get to the rim doesn’t tempt him be a shoot first point guard, as we saw this season at Memphis.
If the Bulls do take Rose, I think they’ll be making the right pick. Rose is the complete package. I think Beasley did fit a better need on the court, but I’d still take Rose. Rose is one of those players that you can get fired for passing on. He has the potential to be incredible. I also love his work ethic and humble demeanor. If you walked into the green room in New York tonight and had a casual conversation with each prospect, Derrick Rose is the last guy you’d expect to be going number one because he doesn’t act like “the man.” But don’t let that fool you; when he’s on the court he is “the man.” Tune in for the NBA Draft on ESPN at 7 p.m. Eastern to see if Rose becomes a Bull.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
No.1 Pick Win-Win For Bulls
The debate has been raging since the Bulls won the NBA Draft Lottery in May, Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley? The Bulls defied the odds by winning the lottery; they had less than a three percent chance to win it. As far as the odds went, the Bulls were slated to get the 10th pick and now have the chance to draft one of the two best players in college basketball.
Bulls fans may be agonizing over who their team is going to select, but really it’s a win-win situation. The team was “supposed to” get the 10th pick but, thanks to a bit of luck, they’re going to get an immediate contributor. Rose, the hometown kid, will be one of the league’s most exciting young point guards and is likely to join Chris Paul and Deron Williams among the position’s elite youth before too long. Beasley has the skills to average 20 points per game his rookie year and would provide the Bulls will the inside scoring they’ve desperately lacked for so long. Both players would greatly help the team and fans should be excited no matter who they draft. Regardless of the player selected, I think the Bulls have a good shot at the playoffs next season.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.
Not Everyone Sold on Rose
While most draft prognosticators are considering Derrick Rose to Chicago via Thursday’s NBA Draft all but a foregone conclusion, there is at least one GM that thinks that would be a big mistake for the Bulls. ESPN.com’s Chad Ford is reporting that he spoke to one well-respected GM who is drafting in the second half of the first round (a.k.a. his team made the playoffs this season) who believes Beasley is far and away the better prospect.
I’ve been touting Rose on this blog for the past week, and I still like him as the number one pick. But as I’ve mentioned, from simply an on-court basketball point of view it appears that Beasley would be a better fit for the Bulls. I think Beasley has the upside to be better than Rose offensively. If this guy develops and works hard he’s going to be an unstoppable offensive machine. But I’m worried that Beasley isn’t going to work nearly as hard as Rose and never quite realize the almost limitless potential he possesses. I want a guy who will stick around after practice and shoot 200 extra jump shots before he goes home, or work on whatever he feels the biggest weakness in his game is. I see Rose as that type of guy, and I’m just not sure if Beasley would totally commit. I can see why some GMs would still regard Beasley as the top prospect, but Rose seems like the safer pick.
Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.