Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley—Chicago Bulls and the 2008 Draft

With the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft the Chicago Bulls select...

Derrick Rose

NBA Comparison: Dwyane Wade/Jason Kidd

Strengths: He is a breathtaking athlete with terrific size for the point guard position at 6'4". His upside is truly special. An absolutely dazzling dunker with blinding speed, he is likely to be the most athletic PG in the league for years to come. His development in this area has been phenomenal in the past two years.

He knows how to run a team, and raises the level of play of his teammates. A pass-first point guard with excellent court vision, Rose has a rare ability to create passing lanes, finding and creating shots for teammates who do not appear to be open. This is a relentless defender with quick hands and length.

He gets low, will lock his man down on defense, and should only improve. Giving the same intensity and effort on both ends of the floor, he has an excellent handle on the ball, with a deadly crossover, very tough to contain one-on-one. A constant threat to blow by his man off the dribble.

Rose rarely shows much emotion, with very calm on and off-court demeanor. He does not get rattled easily.

Playing with a high level of intensity, he still remains level-headed. Deadly on the fast break with his passing ability and athleticism, Rose can get his head at rim level and has the strength to go into traffic and dunk on people. He brings catlike quickness and body control—an excellent finisher around the basket even after contact.

Rose is a clutch player who raises his level of play against good competition and wants the ball in crunch time. He hits his foul shots at a good rate, and is very team-oriented with a great attitude. Willing to learn, very coachable, and still improving.

This is a tough as nails competitor. A warrior who leaves it out on the floor every time out. A true floor general who shows a solid understanding of the game.

He is a good decision maker with very long arms and strong hands. He loves to drive and hang in the air and shoot when he's cleared the defense. He is very crafty at making shots around the basket, especially fadeways getting great height on his jumpers. Rose is an excellent rebounder due to his size, strength, and tenacity.

Weaknesses: The mechanics on his shot are not fluid, so he may need to adjust it some as he sort of slings the ball from his shoulder, though his shot has shown steady improvement. He is a streaky shooter, and can go through cold spells.

He is more effective in an up-tempo game and understands tempo, but his speed obviously makes running logical and he is still less effective in the half court. Underdeveloped moves off the dribble, still he can become more polished creating shots from the perimeter (á la OJ Mayo).

Right now he relies almost exclusively on his power, handle, and quickness to get by defenders. He can become a lot better at running the pick and roll and has the size to post up PGs all day. He shows great strength and intensity inside, but has under-utilized back to the basket skills.

Sometimes Rose appears to be coasting during games, though I believe this is when he is getting a feel for the tempo of the game, and he is reluctant to force things. Not much of a vocal leader, but certainly leads by example. And this skill is sure to develop with maturity.

Michael Beasley

NBA Comparison: Carmelo Anthon

Strengths: This is a fabulous athlete with an NBA ready body. He completed one of the most dominant seasons in college basketball history as a freshman.

His length, quickness, jumping ability, and strength combine to make him one of the most difficult match ups. He has range from anywhere on the floor all the way out to NBA three, but is especially effective with his soft touch around the rim, where he uses both hands to finish with a variety of moves.

His left handed jump shot is a thing of beauty. With a smooth release, he has good arc and is very balanced getting his legs under him to get great elevation. Beasley is most dangerous out of the mid-post where he can square his man up, and attack with a variety of moves. These include strong takes to the hoop, a nice midrange pull-up, and simply shooting over the top of helpless defenders.

From the triple threat his jabs and shot fakes are extremely efficient because he not only has a quick first step, but also a very long one that allows him to get by people at will. When the defender tries to beat him to the spot, he has a terrific spin move that is virtually unstoppable.

His post game has progressed nicely, and he has shown a nice touch on a variety of hook-shots and fadeaways. He fights hard to get good position on the block, and even harder when crashing the O-glass, as seen by the four offensive rebounds that he averaged per game.

His ability to play the passing lanes and come over weakside to block shots further adds to his ability to fill the stat sheet. A strong personality with great confidence who never gets down on himself, there are few doubts about him becoming a bigtime impact talent at the next level.

Weaknesses: Even though he has great length and body strength, he is somewhat undersized for the PF spot at the next level at 6'7". His perimeter skills, while effective against weaker competition, may not be refined enough to allow him to move over to the SF position just yet, so there are some question marks regarding his position.

His game is based on sheer athleticism and strength, but his actual basketball skills can use some refinement. Going right he is very shaky, and struggles dribbling the ball more than twice with his right hand.

He has decent footwork in the post, but an overall lack of go-to moves. This forces him to get out of control at times and to leave his feet and throw up some ill-advised shots. Still, his ability to create in these situations is remarkable.

His mentality is to score no matter how many people are guarding him. Countless times, he would find himself facing a double or even triple team, yet he would still opt to shoot instead of finding an open teammate. This can be at least partially attributed to a lack of quality teammates.

He averaged a measly 1.2 assists per game, which may not only be a testament to his scoring mentality, but also to his marginal vision. His decision making is also suspect at times. He gets into trouble by trying to do too much, then attempts to throw difficult passes.

Defensively, he has come a long way from simply wondering around the court, but that doesn't mean that he is by any means a stopper just yet. He has the potential to be an incredible defender, but he has yet to show the willingness to get nasty and play with the same effort on that end of the floor.

Man to man he is decent and shows improved desire, but he can improve further. From a team standpoint, he is still not very good at reading angles and being in good help position, but that should come with experience. There is some concern about his work ethic and whether cashing huge checks before the age of 19 will have an effect on his motor.

He also has some character issues, which may make teams stay away, but there is no question he can play on the court. Beasley reminds me of Darren McFadden.