Why Beasley was the #2 pick

[JCSunsfan]

Classic recap of a head to head matchup against Blake Griffen. If this kid could get his act together, he has the talent to be really great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znxwlkye9sI&feature=related

 

[JCSunsfan]

It is interesting that Beasley and his agent chose to come here because of the father figure that Alvin Gentry is.

Gentry has seemed to calm Sebastian Telfair down. This might be an angle I had not previously considered.

 

[Phrazbit]

Beasley has a game that was great in college and has not translated well in the pros, the pick was a whiff. He is not particularly fast or strong for his size, and what size he does have he does not use well. He is a jump shooter, it is his one strength. He does not penetrate and does not have the talent to do so. He also has an awful interior game.

Those of you who keep gushing about him as a college prospect are going to be in for an extremely rude awakening. This has NOTHING to do with his attitude, he is just a crappy pro ball player.

 

[slinslin]

Eh for his size he is definitely fast. I don't know how you could say otherwise. For a 6'10 guy he is certainly fast and has a good handle.

 

[Phrazbit]

Eh for his size he is definitely fast. I don't know how you could say otherwise. For a 6'10 guy he is certainly fast and has a good handle.

He is not 6'10" and he is not fast. He has middling athleticism that he does not use. Its easy to say he is not fast because he virtually never shows any amount of speed or explosiveness.

 

[JCSunsfan]

He is not 6'10" and he is not fast. He has middling athleticism that he does not use. Its easy to say he is not fast because he virtually never shows any amount of speed or explosiveness.

You are right, he is 6-8 not 6-10.

You are wrong about his athleticism. Coming out, his athleticism was considered off the charts. Athleticism is not something scouts get wrong. Its easily measurable. The knock on him was shot selection, defense, and willing to play team ball. Its still the problem.

http://nbadraft.net/players/michael-beasley

He did come into the last season completely physically unprepared. Seems that there were many nba players that were expecting a full year off and when the lockout ended early, they were out of shape.

Beasley has all the tools to be truly great. The problem is between his ears. It SHOULD be an easy thing to solve, but NBA players who are knuckleheads tend to remain knuckleheads.

I am not gushing, I am trying to be objective, even a little pessimistic.

 

[slinslin]

NBA.com lists him at 6'10. He measured 6'7 without shoes as a 19 year old at the draft combine. That would make him 6'8 1/2 with shoes if he didn't grow anymore.

Still give me some 6'9 guys who are faster? Durant, Lebron? You have to name some of the absolutely elite athletes clearly that tells me is fast enough.

 

[slinslin]

Doesn't look like someone limited to being a jumpshooter. Obviously he takes a lot of jumpers since he plays SF he better do that but he has a versatile offensive game that includes postup situations and he uses his jumpshot well to set up the drive to the basket.

I have high hopes for Beasley. If he is our #1 option for a season I expect huge improvement from him throughout the season.

Anyway having a guy on the team that could always go off for 40 on a night or score 30 in 4 straight games will be a nice change.

 

[Russ Smith]

Beasley has a game that was great in college and has not translated well in the pros, the pick was a whiff. He is not particularly fast or strong for his size, and what size he does have he does not use well. He is a jump shooter, it is his one strength. He does not penetrate and does not have the talent to do so. He also has an awful interior game.

Those of you who keep gushing about him as a college prospect are going to be in for an extremely rude awakening. This has NOTHING to do with his attitude, he is just a crappy pro ball player.

in college he was unstoppable on the block but I think largely because he was one of those tough matchups, too quick for bigger guys, too big for guys quick enough. He also has sort of a Zach Randolph game(without that width) where he has a very difficult shot to block on the low block, guys constantly think they will block it but can't.

the problem is as you said that didn't translate to the NBA, guys were able to bother that shot and he became more of a faceup player.

He and Kevin Love had very similar situations they were both low post beasts in college who had to totally remake themselves in the NBA. Love has become good enough at the faceup that along with his rebounding, he's a very good NBA player. Beasley, has gone the other way, he fell in love with his jumper, shoots a low % and doesn't rebound. For a guy who put up 12.4 RPG in college his NBA numbers are pathetic.

Terrible work ethic and one of those kids who was brought up with the if things aren't going well, change schools mentality. Difficult kid unless he's grown up a lot I think he'll be a major headache for the Suns.

he's been coasting on natural talent and finally reached a level where he's just not good enough to do that anymore.

 

[JS22]

I think Beasley has a better chance of thriving here than he does failing. He'll be more of a primary scoring option, instead of being mixed in with 72 small forwards in Minny. He is plenty athletic.

 

[Phrazbit]

You are right, he is 6-8 not 6-10.

You are wrong about his athleticism. Coming out, his athleticism was considered off the charts. Athleticism is not something scouts get wrong. Its easily measurable. The knock on him was shot selection, defense, and willing to play team ball. Its still the problem.

http://nbadraft.net/players/michael-beasley

He did come into the last season completely physically unprepared. Seems that there were many nba players that were expecting a full year off and when the lockout ended early, they were out of shape.

Well, they got it wrong on Beasley, way wrong. His "athleticism" has not in any way translated to the NBA. In the NBA he looks weak and while he is not slow he certainly isnt quick. The next time Beasley blows by someone to get at the rim might be the first time.

Even going back before the lockout its hard to find a forward in the entire NBA who went to the rim less than Beasley. He is not great in transition, he gets killed defensively and he does not rebound. How all of that translates into him being a superior NBA athlete is beyond me.

He is a homeless man's Glenn Robinson.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Doesn't look like someone limited to being a jumpshooter. Obviously he takes a lot of jumpers since he plays SF he better do that but he has a versatile offensive game that includes postup situations and he uses his jumpshot well to set up the drive to the basket.

I have high hopes for Beasley. If he is our #1 option for a season I expect huge improvement from him throughout the season.

Anyway having a guy on the team that could always go off for 40 on a night or score 30 in 4 straight games will be a nice change.

got to admit, thats about as versatile an offensive game as there is. Too bad he is not interested enough to play D, and stoned too much to be consistent.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Well, they got it wrong on Beasley, way wrong. His "athleticism" has not in any way translated to the NBA. In the NBA he looks weak and while he is not slow he certainly isnt quick. The next time Beasley blows by someone to get at the rim might be the first time.

Even going back before the lockout its hard to find a forward in the entire NBA who went to the rim less than Beasley. He is not great in transition, he gets killed defensively and he does not rebound. How all of that translates into him being a superior NBA athlete is beyond me.

He is a homeless man's Glenn Robinson.

You are not in touch with reality.

 

[Mainstreet]

Beasley is well worth the gamble. He is young enough where if he matures, he has star potential. I'm not saying it is going to happen but it could happen. The tools are there.

 

[Phrazbit]

You are not in touch with reality.

Well, be prepared to get in touch with my reality as you watch this guy take it to the rim on 1% of his shots, and settle for jumpers over 80% of the time, get slaughtered on defense and ignore the glass.

Teams dont dump guys with "elite" athleticism that can score... yet Beasley has been dropped like a bad habit twice, by bad teams, the Wolves spent a year trying to give him away and failed in the process.

Beasley has been a bad, unathletic basketball player during his NBA career. You can whine and pout and hope for the best, but I am telling exactly what he has been. Ive watched him plenty, the league has watched him plenty. The guy that some of you think he is (but have never watched) would have not been kicked to the curb twice.

Every stat supports what I am saying and even his "highlights" show a player totally reliant on his face up game to create opportunities... and who virtually never gets to the rim.

But yes, other than that he cant dunk, doesnt get to the line, gets killed in transition, gets killed on defense and does not rebound the guy has been an "ELITE" athlete.

 

[95pro]

Was watching some clips of him on YouTube, and he was standing next to kLove and I was surprised how tall he is.

 

[DWKB]

How many NBA players are able to turn around their game 4 years into their careers? Is this something that is common or can we say after 4 years that Beasley is the player he's going to be? He seems to have regressed each of the last two years at MIN.

 

[Chaplin]

It took Steve Nash 5 years.

 

[Mainstreet]

It took Steve Nash 5 years.

Agreed.

I believe Nash was 26 when he started to blossom and Beasley is still only 23. Dragic is also 26. It's not fair to compare players but one does not reject the potential of a 23 year old with immense talent such as Beasley.

On the same token Robin Lopez is only 24. For all the criticism he gets, I would not be surprise me to see him blossom into something more whether the Suns keep him or not. One can go back and forth on this issue because there are lots of players that never turn the corner, however, it behooves a team not to write off players who have tremendous upside too early.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Thing is, Nash was a bit of an anomaly. Beyond him I couldn't think of too many others that put it together after a sub-par first few years.

Good thing the internet knows all! http://wagesofwins.com/2011/08/16/nba-late-bloomers/

Excerpt...

Despite the fact that late bloomers do exist we should not be so optimistic. Over 2500 players have suited up since 1978. Around 300 of these players have turned into “stars”. It’s very rare to find a star player and even rarer to find one out of a pool of players that have been playing badly. Everyone can hope that their favorite player that is chocked full of potential will turn it around. Sadly, the fact is if it hasn’t happened by their first contract extension, it probably won’t ever happen. That won’t stop many GMs from hoping though.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Agreed.

I believe Nash was 26 when he started to blossom and Beasley is still only 23. Dragic is also 26. It's not fair to compare players but one does not reject the potential of a 23 year old with immense talent such as Beasley.

On the same token Robin Lopez is only 24. For all the criticism he gets, I would not be surprise me to see him blossom into something more whether the Suns keep him or not. One can go back and forth on this issue because there are lots of players that never turn the corner, however, it behooves a team not to write off players who have tremendous upside too early.

Kevin Garnett took a few years, so did Marcus Camby. Its especially an issue when a player is emotionally immature.

It often takes players a little longer, especially big men. One of the great tragedies of the early entry players is that I believe many are immature in body and mind and end up failing and out of the league before they actually mature enough to be effective.

The NBA would be better off with a more developed minor league system.

 

[Mainstreet]

Thing is, Nash was a bit of an anomaly. Beyond him I couldn't think of too many others that put it together after a sub-par first few years.

Good thing the internet knows all! http://wagesofwins.com/2011/08/16/nba-late-bloomers/

Excerpt...

Good quote. However, I contend at least some potential stars never become so because they never get on the right team or in the right situation to take advantage of their skills.

 

[slinslin]

Well Joe Johnson certainly took 3 years or so.

 

[Mainstreet]

Kevin Garnett took a few years, so did Marcus Camby. Its especially an issue when a player is emotionally immature.

It often takes players a little longer, especially big men. One of the great tragedies of the early entry players is that I believe many are immature in body and mind and end up failing and out of the league before they actually mature enough to be effective.

The NBA would be better off with a more developed minor league system.

+1.

The NBA would have to require each team to carry a certain number of players in the minor leagues. However, it would have to drop the restriction on veterans being exempt (after a certain time limit) for it to work.

 

[Griffin]

Thing is, Nash was a bit of an anomaly. Beyond him I couldn't think of too many others that put it together after a sub-par first few years.

Good thing the internet knows all! http://wagesofwins.com/2011/08/16/nba-late-bloomers/

Excerpt...

Interesting article. So the few late bloomers they found according to their criteria are mostly point guards. It is rather hard to think of any big man late bloomer examples. I don't know much about the Wins Produced formula they employ, seems to be based on efficiency, but if you look at 2010/11 stats where Beasley enjoyed his best statistical season, he is ranked #450 out of 452 players in WP.