Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 2)

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We just finished revisiting the lottery portion of the 2005 NBA Draft, which was one of the weakest in recent memory. In drafts light on impact talent, the GM who can find a diamond in the rough is king. But drafts that have a number of star-potential players can also be difficult and many an executive has made what turned out to be the wrong call. Greg Oden over Kevin Durant immediately springs to mind (sorry Blazers fans), likewise taking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan…ouch!

The 2008 draft, which is the next one we’ll be tackling, had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.

In our first round of voting, our fans selected Westbrook as the player the Bulls should have taken with the first overall pick. Of course, Chicago took Rose, who posted MVP numbers prior to injuries taking hold. Westbrook received just over 79% of the votes, with Rose a distant second at 14.5%.

Let’s move on to the next pick. The Heat made a choice they soon came to regret — forward Michael Beasley. Beasley lasted just two seasons with the Heat before he was moved to the Timberwolves. Beasley had a second stint with the Heat and appeared in 20 games with the Rockets last season, but obviously never developed into a franchise-type player.

Who should the Heat have taken with the second overall pick? Please check back on Saturday for results.

Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. Also, if I fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and I’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

Selections

  1. Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
  2. Heat — ??? [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.

View Comments (4)