#4 to Miami for Michael Beasly

I don’t think I want him even for free, frankly.

Not even close to value. Although he is younger than Wes Johnson. The problem is he doesn’t really have the size to play the 4 nor the perimeter skills to play the 3. He’s also not a great defender. Hopefully down the line- he becomes a Poor Man’s Lamar Odom.

If the #4 is too high what about the #16

Beasley can’t play small forward anymore than he can play power forward, he’s a tweener just like Gomes except he is a little more athletic. He’s too slow to defend small forwards and to short to defend power forwards, his awful defense and inconsistency are why I have no interest in him, they other stuff is just the cherry on top.

There is no reason to add him just because he can score, he’d basically be replacing Gomes as the designated sf/pf tweener who can’t defend wither position and you can’t count on on a night to night basis.

I’d like acquire Beasley for as little as possible, but that 4th overall pick is the best chance the Wolves have to acquire some real talent. We tanked the whole damn year and watched some truly miserable basketball to get it, we can’t spend that pick on Beasley, a guy who if he were to re-enter the draft today would not go in the top 10.

I don’t want him because I don’t think he’s very good, and I don’t see the path to him getting better. I’m not so concerned about his attitude because I don’t actually think he’d have a lot of influence over other players. My impression from distance is that he isn’t evil or bad, he’s just goofy and lazy and tends toward depression, perhaps. I don’t think he’d be a strong presence in the locker room either way.

However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t risk, which is another reason I don’t want him. The risk is opportunity cost. I don’t want to spend a year or two trying to figure out what Miami already knows, that he just doesn’t fit in the league very well. In the meantime, that means they aren’t looking for a real solution.

As for Cousins, it’s a different thing. I’m not sure about him, because I don’t know how his personality will translate to the NBA. We KNOW Beasley’s doesn’t work. However, there’s at least a compelling argument to take the risk with Cousins. He’s huge as well as talented, he has a real position, and the personality issues are different. Whether better or worse, I don’t know, but different.

1. or even #16 is too much, but I’d definitely trade Gomes’ team option for Beasley in a heartbeat. Has he been a bust thus far? Surely, but let’s not forget that he was probably one of the 5 most highly regarded draft prospects since LBJ’s class.

The DMC doubters keep saying he won’t pan out until he’s with his 2nd or 3rd team….might this theory also apply to Beasley? He is a bit of a tweener, but he might flourish as a PF on a running team.

Not sure where the #4 talk is coming from. Chris Sheridan just had this to say on Insider: “Miami offers Beasley, Daequan Cook, James Jones, $3 million and a future No. 1 to Minnesota for basically nothing. The Heat thereby clear all their contracts and get their payroll down to zero (besides Wade), and the Wolves get the No. 2 pick of the ’08 draft and a future No. 1.”

…take a chance on Beasley? One of the reasons he went to K-State was to get away from his destructive home environment. The fact is the worst thing that happened to him was to be drafted to Miami and have all the temptations of the party scene. Maybe Minnesota would act as his NBA K-State where he could focus on basketball. I see this as a limited risk, high upside type of move that we all should be rooting for the Wolves to pull off this off-season.

Miami only does this type of trade if they believe they will be able to sign Wade and Lebron, therefore this becomes what will Miami trade for Lebron. Obviously a team would be willing to pay a lot for Lebron so this is a perfect time to take advantage of the heat.

I don’t think our cap space will be used on a player so I have no problem giving it up in a trade that gets us other assets. This isn’t my favorite trade but I wouldn’t mind doing something like whats mentioned above. Even though I think Beasley will become at worst a solid player, I don’t like the idea of Beasley being the only asset we get back. Along with Beasley I think we should get Toronto’s 1st and Miami’s 1st next year. Also I would swap 23 for 18 which would help both sides by saving Miami money and giving us a slightly higher pick.

It is unfathomable to trade the number four for Beasley, but he could fit in nicely if Miami is willing to give him away below market value. If you think about it, in the triangle, forwards are usually receiving the ball on the elbow and in the high post around the foul line. This will give him the same offense he had at K-State, where they threw the ball to him and told him to do work. He could get shots in rhythm off the catch, or drive strong. He could be a guy who could help a lot as long as expectations are low and he is allowed to play his game, which he was not allowed to do in Miami.