2008 Woodie Awards
Bulls select Rose, Heat can't pass on Beasley
Best and worst of the 2008 NBA Draft
Jared Jackson, Staff Writer
Issue date: 7/2/08 Section: Sports
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UCLA guard Russell Westbrook made the jump from relative unknown to the fourth layer taken overall by Seattle, while his teammate Kevin Love was chosen by the Memphis Grizzles with the number five pick.
By 2 a.m. Friday morning however, Love would swap places with O.J. Mayo in a blockbuster trade. Other than Mayo, Memphis also received Antoine Walker, Marko Jaric and Greg Buckner, while Minnesota received Mike Miller, Jason Collins and Brian Cardinal in addition to Love.
The New York Knicks then chose Italian forward Danilo Gallinari, who endured a chorus of boos from the Knicks faithful at Madison Square Garden.
Indiana guard Eric Gordon was chosen No. 7 by the Los Angeles Clippers and was followed by West Virginia big man Joe Alexander at No. 8 going to Milwaukee.
The Charlotte Bobcats made the earliest splash of the night by choosing Texas point guard D.J. Augustin with the ninth pick. New Jersey then took true seven footer Stanford's Brook Lopez at 10th followed by Arizona's Jerryd Bayless at No. 11 to Indiana.
Bayless was later traded to Portland along with Ike Diogu for Brandon Rush, the No. 13 pick, Jarret Jack and former Duke forward Josh McRoberts.
Sacramento chose Rider forward Jason Thompson at No. 12, the first senior chosen in the draft. To end the lottery portion of the draft, Golden State chose LSU forward Anthony Randolph with the No. 14 pick.
The first 14 selections were made up of seven freshmen, one senior and one foreign player.
Best:
Chicago Bulls- The Bulls got a franchise point guard in Derrick Rose, a lock to be an all-star within three to four years and will develop into the mold of a Chris Paul or Deron Williams-type point guard. Even though the Bulls could lose stars Ben Gordon and Lou Deng to free agency, they will be able to rebuild fast around Rose and get back to the championship caliber last seen when Michael Jordan called Chicago his home. Chicago also picked up international player Omer Asik at No. 36, who critics say could be a solid role player with great energy.
New Jersey Nets- The Nets did exactly what they set out to do coming into the draft. For starters, the Nets were able to trade Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee for Yi Jianlian and create some cap space. Then, during the course of the draft were able to pick up Stanford's Brook Lopez (a true seven footer that can score), Ryan Anderson (a solid forward out of California) and Chris-Douglas Roberts (a slasher out of Memphis who should be a great sixth man.) What more could you ask for?
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