2008 NBA DRAFT: Time: 7 p. m. • Madison Square Garden TV: ESPN • First pick: Chicago Bulls
Paxson in can’t-miss situation
Bulls GM has good options with first pick tonight
By Rodney McKissic --
Updated: 06/26/08 7:25 AM
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- Derrick Rose is expected to be the first player taken.
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As a player, there were times John Paxson wanted the ball in his hands in the closing minutes. His confidence never wavered. Michael Jordan leaned on Paxson to come through in the clutch when others might be paralyzed by self-doubt or fear of failure.
Now, as an executive, Paxson finds himself in a very comparable situation. His Chicago Bulls have the No. 1 overall pick in tonight’s NBA draft (7 p. m., ESPN). After 10 years of playing pedestrian basketball, the franchise can make huge progress with one pick.
It’s time for Paxson to make an arduous personnel decision, just as he once took the pressure shots. In a sense, what Paxson does tonight may be more important to his team than any one shot he ever took in his career — even the ones that decided the Bulls’ first NBA championship in 1991.
“This is about the future of the Bulls’ organization and what it will mean in that time frame, three, five years out,” Paxson said. “It’s that significant.”
If Paxson selects a player who ends up blossoming into a Kobe Bryant or a LeBron James, he will certainly add at least 100 wins to the Bulls’ total over the next 10 years. And perhaps another championship.
But if he selects a Michael Olowokandi or a Kwame Brown, a pair of No. 1 overall busts, the Bulls may continue their downward trend that began with Jordan’s second retirement in 1998. Basically, Paxson can’t commit an unforced turnover.
“You have to ask yourself, ‘How does this player help you two, three, four years down the line?’ ” Paxson said. “If you sit there and you say he’s going to have a significant impact on what you’re trying to build and winning, then you make that call. We’re not going to look at this decision [tonight] as one that’s about today and tomorrow.”
The Bulls will likely use their first pick on one of two freshmen: Memphis point guard Derrick Rose or Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley. Both players fill a need.
Rose led the Tigers to the national championship game, which they lost to Kansas in overtime, while Beasley was the nation’s leading rebounder and third-leading scorer behind VMI’s Reggie Williams and Niagara University’s Charron Fisher.
“We can’t go wrong,” Paxson said. “These two kids are going to be really, really good players. One’s going to be better than the other right off the bat, probably. Who that is, I don’t know; it depends on the situation, the playing time, circumstances and all that. But when you’re in this position, as we’ve learned, you have to — outside of a LeBron James or something like that — look long term.”
Others expected to be among the first 14 players picked are USC guard O. J. Mayo, UCLA power forward Kevin Love, Italy small forward Danilo Gallinari and West Virginia small forward Joe Alexander. Syracuse University small forward Donte Greene and Rider power forward Jason Thompson are expected to be chosen late in the first round.
Statistically, you get a No. 1 overall pick in the draft about once every 30 years. It’s your chance to alter the history of your team. You try to pick a future Hall of Famer. But this is the Bulls’ second crack at No. 1 since 1999 (Elton Brand). And whomever Chicago decides to draft with the top pick, there’s a good chance he won’t be with the organization very long, based on the Bulls’ recent history.
From 1999 on, Chicago has selected Brand, Marcus Fizer, Eddy Curry, Jay Williams, Ben Gordon, LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah in the first round. Only Gordon and Noah remain with the team and Gordon is a restricted free agent, as is Luol Deng.
The clock is ticking for Paxson and everyone is watching. The lane is clogged, Jordan is double teamed. He has an open look. All he has to do is drain it.
