NBA Draft: Heat Get Beasley

Well, the waiting is over. The drama ended soon after Chicago made Derrick Rose the top pick in the Draft. Miami bypassed any type of trade or twist, taking Michael Beasley at number 2, and disappearing for a couple hours. I couldn't be happier right now. We just added the best college prospect of the last decade to a team with one of the top 5 (when healthy) players in the league. Beasley is a certifiable stud, and we will get to watch him become that cornerstone-type player in Miami for the foreseeable future. Coach Spoelstra can plug him in at the 3 or 4 right away and not have any worries. Double-Double from the get-go, focus of the inside offense, the second superstar you need to win that NBA Title.

Basically, all the trade talks and garbage about Mayo, Bayless, or any other rumor flying the last few weeks involving Miami passing on Beasley were put to rest, and apparently the character concerns and reservations went with them. Like I've been saying for a while now (although I even started questioning it), Riley played the game brilliantly and got the player he wanted all along. Our roster is also still completely intact, so tonight was all about addition. And Beasley is one hell of an addition. I'll post videos within the next couple days of our 3 newest players.

Speaking of the other 2, we grabbed 2 potential impact guys in the second round, one with our pick at 52, and another through a trade. At pick 52, we drafted Darnell Jackson, the 6'8 PF from Kansas. He has a big frame, and works hard on both ends of the floor. He's a very good finisher, and has a pretty good mid-range jumper. Jackson averaged a respectable 11.2 pts and 6.7 rebs last season, very good numbers considering he played in one of the most loaded frontcourts in the NCAA last season. He really flew under the radar behind Darrell Arthur, and I think he can make the team and contribute in a year or two. Soon after that pick, it was announced that Miami was involved in a trade with Minnesota. My heart stopped for a second, thinking it was Beasley for Mayo, but it turned out to be a much better deal from Miami's perspective. We traded two 2nd round picks next year and some cash, for Mario Chalmers, PG from KU, who the T'Wolves chose at pick 34. There was talk of him being in the lottery, but he dropped into the early second round, and we were able to get him without giving up much of anything. I think that may turn out to be a very good pickup, he's a solid defender, good with the dribble, and can definitely shoot the 3, which is all we really want out of a PG next to Wade in the backcourt.

Overall, this draft gets an A+ from me. Maybe I'm just a homer. But Beasley will be a star. And Chalmers and Jackson could both be good role players in a few years, and good young bench players don't exactly grow on trees in the NBA. Very good draft, Riley clearly is still the genius he's always been.

Some other draft notes:
- Mayo looked absolutely DEVASTATED that he has to play in Minnesota instead of Miami. I kind of feel bad for him, because Riley played him as part of the whole "master plan" he had going, and Mayo seemed disappointed that he wasn't the 2nd pick. Oh well, he'll be a good player, and in 3 or 4 years he can leave Minny and get to the big market he craves. Good luck to him.

-The Knicks took the Italian Danilo Gallinari, and the fans in NYC booed him. New Yorkers booing an Italian? WTF?

-Utah had 3 draft picks, and picked 3 international guys. Kosta Koufos, Ante Tomic, and Tadija Dragici-whatever the hell it is. It became a bit of a running gag by the third pick with me and my dad, and we laughed for about 5 minutes after they took Dragicevic (or something). Apparently they don't want to see the two guys they got in round 2. And they definitely need a Euro guy to stick between Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko on the frontline. What a fun locker room that must be. Meh.

-Joey Dorsey was picked ahead of CD-R, who incredibly dropped to the 40th pick to New Jersey. What a joke. CD-R was the best player on Memphis last season, and he went after Joey Dorsey. And after Euro Stiffs like Omer Asik.

-Jay Bilas narrowed his Draft Vocabulary down to about 5 phrases by the end of the night, and he used them to describe every single pick. Long Wingspan. Can get off the floor. Will make an NBA team. Etc etc... Bilas is as boring as it gets.

-Wow. As I'm sitting here typing this, Minnesota has worked out a deal with Memphis that would swap Mayo for Love, with Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker, and Greg Buckner accompanying Mayo to Memphis, and Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins heading to Minnesota with Love. Blockbuster. Doesn't affect us any, but still, Wow.

-I'll have more in the next few days, as all the trades are worked out and picks are finalized. Free Agency starts soon as well, so as Riley makes moves, I'll post blogs. Sleep well Heat fans, dreaming about buying that new Michael Beasley Heat jersey. I know I will.