Brook Lopez: Chicago Bulls Must Draft Center

Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. If I hear that one more time my head might explode.

Last season the Bulls were supposed to make a run in the playoffs. Some even had them going to the Finals. Well that did not go so well. Some how, like the Knicks getting Patrick Ewing, the Bulls find themselves there with the first pick in the draft. There is no Patrick Ewing in this draft, or at least that is what I think.

Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose are stated to be the most talented players in the draft. Beasley can turn out to be a Carmelo Anthony and Rose is being compared to a Wade and Kidd mix. These are not bad comparisons.

I see these two players differently.

I had been following them since they were in High School. Beasley is athletic, strong, and was a dominant player in college. I see him being a guy like Derrick Coleman at most. Yeah he dominated the college game but let's look at some of those games when he had a potential NBA defender on him.

Against Rider he managed to get 13 points and ten rebounds. Jason Thompson covered him and Beasley covered Thompson. Thompson is projected to go in the mid-to-late first round. Thompson managed to get 24 points on Beasley.

Against Xavier, Beasley had five points and 12 rebounds in a loss. Xavier had a good scheme on how to shut him down. Play physical on him. He could not get his teammates involved much and make them better because he does not have those capabilities.

The more I think about it, he can be a Zach Randolph. Good numbers (20 and ten) but does not help his team win.

Derrick Rose is supposed to make an impact like Chris Paul or Deron Williams. I saw them both play in college. I did not see the same "it" factor in Rose. Yeah he's athletic, but so was his team. They out did every team they played.

He was very inconsistent. From 20 points to two, to four, to 20, to ten, to whatever. He was not consistent.

How did he do against NBA talent?

We saw an incapable talent to take over against Kansas. He banked in a couple of clutch shots but did not call it. Against Jerryd Bayless and Arizona, he had 12 points, five assists, and six TURNOVERS. Can I also mention Bayless didn't even play. He was sidelined due to injury. So even against a backup he did not impress.

Against O.J. Mayo, Rose had nine points, four assists, and ten rebounds, with five turnovers. O.J. Mayo did get 16 points but missed a lot of questionable shot selections.

Rose also got shut down against UAB. An athletic lineup. He did not jump out much against NBA talent.

John Paxson, Bulls GM, is sitting there looking at these two prospects but is blind to another.

Brook Lopez of Stanford. This is a seven footer who carried Stanford all season. He does it all, which is why he will be a 20, 10 guy in the NBA who can win. He can also pass and just generally has a great feel for the game. I was impressed seeing him as a freshman and he improved a lot over a year.

Lopez is who the Bulls need.

The Bulls have a solid point guard who had a bad season with the rest of his team mates, in Kirk Hinrich. Behind him is a solid backup if he decides to re-sign, in Chris Duhon. Ben Gordon, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown (a project), and Sefelosha flood the back court. These are all talented players.

Then you look at the forwards. Luol Deng, Andres Nocioni, Tyrus Thomas, Drew Gooden, Joakhim Noah, and Cedrick Simmons. Again, this is a young and talented group. At center, well a true center, is Aaron Gray. Yeah, I'm going to leave that one there.

My point is the Bulls need a center. They do not need a player in any other position. They already are full of talent. They just need a guy who can be like Gasol, a player who he can post and score, or kick it out for a jump shooter. Brook Lopez is that man.

I would say forget about team needs and go for the No. 1 talent, but there really is not any. Beasley and Rose are no Dwight Howard or LeBron James. Paxson needs to stop watching ESPN and think for himself.

Yeah Brook Lopez might get booed when his name is called but the fans will be cheering when they win the championship