Bulls Pick Derrick Rose at No 1-I am Not Convinced

An article i have edited for your viewing pleasure and my own comments added

Written by me on June 27th-Many trades have happended recently which stops the Bulls buying a great player, plsu after the summer league games I am still not convinced…

Derrick Rose grew up a few miles from the United Center. Now he’ll call the arena home.

The Chicago Bulls took Rose with the No. 1 draft pick on Thursday, opting for the point guard who led Memphis to the NCAA championship game over Kansas State forward Michael Beasley.

“It’s been amazing just waking up in the morning, knowing that today is my day and knowing that I’m going to have a chance to be in the first two picks,” Rose said. “Man, it’s been crazy running around, making me feel important. You really don’t want the day to end.”

That the Bulls went with Rose wasn’t a big surprise, and that is unfortunate as I am not highly convinced this is a good move due to our luck of drafting guards post MJ era, only Ben Grodan has been something who has great quality.

Jay Williams being a adequate back-up player, gets injured and that was the end of his career and Kirk Hinrich seems to not have stepped up his game, plus he isn’t the best shooter.  Rose may prove me wrong though, and I hope he does. 

General manager John Paxson had hinted that they were leaning toward the dynamic floor leader who averaged 14.9 points and 4.7 assists while helping Memphis win a record 38 games in his lone season.

“I think he’s a special type of talent,” Paxson said. “I do feel the point guard position is really tough to come by. I think he had the unique strength component and speed component that a lot of point guards in this league don’t have. … He’s 19 years old and we feel like for the next 10, 12 years we’ve got a position covered that is really important to have.”

Not that choosing him over Beasley was easy. Both players probably could have jumped to the NBA from high school if league rules still allowed.

Instead, Beasley delivered one of the best seasons ever by a freshman, becoming just the third to lead the nation in rebounds at 12.4 per game while averaging 26.2 points. He had the second-most rebounds and third-most points by a freshman in NCAA history, helping Kansas State to its first NCAA tournament victory in 20 years.

He is projected to be a prolific scorer, something the Bulls certainly could use, and Paxson had said he would probably make a bigger impact next season.

Yet they saw Rose as a better fit after a disappointing 33-49 season.

The Bulls lacked leadership last season, and they are trying to pick up the tempo under new coach Vinny Del Negro without sacrificing much on defense–areas where Rose could help. They were also thinking long-term with the pick.

“He’s going to make guys better,” Del Negro said. “Guys that have his ability–length, create, finish with contact–are only going to benefit everybody on the team.”

Although Paxson said the Bulls will try to bring him along slowly, Rose believes he’ll be a quick study.

“I think I’ll come in and lead the team,” Rose said. “That’s how I feel.”

Can a 19-year-old rookie do that?

“I think I can be a leader on the court and off the court,” Rose said. “Age doesn’t really matter. It’s about how effective you are, and I think I’m getting better with my leadership skills.”

Rose is just the second guard taken with the first pick since Magic Johnson in 1979, joining Allen Iverson in 1996, and he’s the Bulls’ first No. 1 pick since Elton Brand in 1999. The Bulls went with Arkansas forward Sonny Weems in the second round, taking him with the 39th pick, then traded him to Denver for a second-round pick next season.

A product of city’s South Side, he had Memphis in position to win the national championship before things ended on a sour note. Rose scored 14 of his team’s 16 points during one stretch as the Tigers built a nine-point lead late in the title game against Kansas, but he missed one of two free throws with 10.8 seconds left. Mario Chalmers then hit the tying 3-pointer, and the Jayhawks won in overtime.

Even so, Rose made a convincing case that he was one of the top players in the draft. He was particularly good during the NCAA tournament, averaging 20.8 points after a solid regular season and now, he’ll try to help his hometown team pick up the pieces after a brutal season.

“Of course there’s pressure,” Rose said. “But I’m used to playing in Chicago. I think that will work to my advantage.”

Rose grew up in the rough Englewood neighborhood and starred at Simeon Career Academy. He’s old enough to remember the end of the championship dynasty but also saw Chicago hit the bottom of the NBA.

The Bulls thought they were on the right track after three straight playoff appearances but derailed as individual agendas took hold last season.

Luol Deng and Ben Gordon turned down five-year contract extensions and Kobe Bryant trade rumors surfaced as the season started. Players bickered with each other and their coaches. Scott Skiles got fired in December, interim coach Jim Boylan was let go at the end of the season, and the Bulls’ coaching search dragged on about two months before they finally hired Del Negro after high-profile flirtations with Mike D’Antoni and Doug Collins.

The team’s luck–and Rose’s career path–took a dramatic turn on May 20.

Rose signed with agents Arn Tellem and B.J. Armstrong, the former Bulls player, and told them he hoped to play for Chicago. That drew laughter, but a few hours later, there were gasps. The Bulls won the draft lottery despite 1.7 percent odds, and a long shot turned into a strong possibility.

Chicago still has issues to address, starting with Deng and Gordon.

They’re restricted free agents, and even if Gordon leaves ( ihope he doesn’t), the Bulls still have a crowd in the backcourt. Kirk Hinrich and Larry Hughes have large contracts (and both of these could be got rid of, but their will be no takers), and Thabo Sefolosha made a case for more playing time last season (to me it should be him , gordan and rose and duhon left).

Now Rose is in the mix.

“Everybody’s out there saying the Bulls have to change the backcourt,” Paxson said. “We’re not going to rush into that. … We’re not going to rush into giving up some of our players thinking that’s going to solve all of our problems. We will be in a position as we go on to make some moves, but this is about adding a player that has unique ability. And he has not, in my opinion, touched the surface of what he’s going to be.”

Now my overall comment on this is the Bulls need to create a team who can defend and score on the transition and open court and can play to make most teams struggle.

In my opinion this is the team i like to play

First team

Rose-PG (I have more faith in him then Hinrich, but still not convinced but we fans must believe he will be good enough and will compliment Gordan the most)
Gordan-SG (keep due to being a player if on form could score 20-25 points a game)
Deng-SF (keep due to being a 20 points 8 rebounds type of player)
Gooden-PF (the best we got out of the trade with Cleveland)
Noah-C (he has got to defend more and not be so lazy-it is a concern)

Second team

Duhon-PG (good back-up guard-but will leave)
Sefalsoha-SG (hgue potential and always worth looking at)
Niochini-SF (good SF and Deng injury record form last seaosn means he may play a lot this year)
Thomas-PF (still needs development and is still a bench warmer however Gooden is a good player to learn from)
Gray-PF-C (has potenial but mainly a Luc Longley type)

Hughes, Hinrich and the others can be traded and we need some post-up players and some 3 points guards, plus stop sending our players to the D-league just get rid of them.

Players I would like the Bulls to get, if they can and if they trade

Ron Artest or Gilbert Arenas (only players i would trade Ben Gordan for, both are different but amazing at what they do-Artest shoudl have never been got rid of in the first place.)
Daniel Gibson (good player but I think Cleveland will keep him)
Elton Brand (if they decide that Gooden isn’t good enough)
Austin Croshere (good back-up PF/SF)
Bonzi Wells (good back-up guard if duhon leaves and the other will hopefully go)