ESPN NBA draft analyst Chad Ford reports that the Miami Heat had a workout with former USC guard O.J. Mayo and that Mayo could very well be the Heat’s first pick in this month’s NBA draft. And to that we give our own NBA draft analysis rebuttal by saying, “Whaaa?!”
This, of course, is all contingent on whether or not the Chicago Bulls, who currently and for no explicable reason other than the NBA Draft Lottery system sucks, hold the first-overall pick, select Memphis star point guard Derrick Rose. As everyone knows, Pat Riley has a hard-on for Rose. As do we all. The kid is an amazing player in the mold of Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Yet if the Bulls take him, the consolation prize should automatically be 19-year old, balls-of-steel phenom Kansas forward Michael Beasley. Right? Right?
Wrong! Because Ford insists Riles has no interest in Beasley. Ford says Riley will take Mayo over Beasley should Rose be off the board when the Heat picks. Now, excuse me while I go lie down in traffic.
The Heat desperately need a point guard, as they currently have a dude whose knees have turned into mulch and Chris Quinn. And that’s where Rose would be perfect. Mayo is an athletic player, but he’s no point guard. He essentially plays the same position as Dwyane Wade. Michael Beasley, on the other hand, would give the Heat a dominant player who averaged 26.5 points and 12.5 rebounds a game in college, a veritable double-double machine, a 53.7 percent shooter, and a really all around swell guy. And yet, Riley sees all that and says, “Meh. I’ll just take the shooting guard… and add him to our other shooting guard.”
Would Riley really pass over Beasley if Rose is not there? Could Mayo be the newest addition to the Heat’s re-building project? Or will he just be the new face of Suck in Miami? We’ll all just have to wait and see. And hope the Bulls draft Beasley so all of this becomes moot. Or hope that Chad Ford really is just a moron. It’s a toss up, really. -- Chris Joseph
