Beasley or Rose? The Chicago Bulls Number One Pick Poses a Problem Many Teams Wish They Had

After a disappointing 33-49 season and a new coach, the Chicago Bulls are going to be coming into the 2008-09 season on a major upswing in the name of the 2008 NBA Draft. The Bulls ended up with the #1 pick after just a 1.7 percent chance of doing so. While anything is possible there are really only three major choices the Bulls have with their selection.

The first choice and possibly the most likely would be to draft freshman phenomenon Derrick Rose of Memphis. Rose, a Chicago native would seem to make a good amount of sense for the Bulls. The 6-3 Memphis guard is great on the fastbreak. He's very quick and athletic. Scouts say that his downside may be that he doesn't have a consistent jump shot. Players like Jason Kidd have however still been able to thrive in the league without having a consistent shot. Scouts however say he is also very coachable which nowadays in the NBA may be a very valuable asset combined with his ability.

The Bulls second option would be to draft another freshman phenomenon: Michael Beasley of Kansas State. Beasley could be a very good fit for the Bulls as well. The 6'9 235lb forward has the potential to be a decent NBA player and possibly even an all star.. Some scouts have hailed him as this year's Kevin Durant. He is seen as an explosive offensive threat inside and an outstanding rebounder. Many feel he has the potential to have a double double every night. If the Bulls don't take him #1, Miami almost definitely will take him with the #2 pick.

The major problem with Beasley is the same as with Derrick Rose. They both have only one year of college in them. While there isn't the major leap of faith that was necessary in the past with High School players there still is however risk. There is also the question with Beasley of what position he will play. Is he big enough to play Power Forward? Is he quick enough to play Small Forward?

The third option the Bulls have is probably the least likely which would be to simply trade the pick to someone else along with a small package of players. The Bulls do have some solid trade bait in Ben Gordon and Kirk Heinrich. Could a small package of players and the #1 pick swing a player the likes of a disgruntled Kobe Bryant? Difficult to say. It is however unlikely the Bulls will go down this road.