Well the Bulls managed to score a major coup when the stole the top pick in the draft. Congratulations to them, but now the hard part begins. There is no question that it remains a two man race for the top pick between Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose. Either one is as close as you can get to a sure thing. The question is which one to pick. Both would fit very well into the Bulls system, and most people feel that PG and PF are areas of need for the Bulls. While I agree that Derrick Rose would be a major upgrade over Kirk Hinrich, I think that Beasley is the better pick.

Derrick Rose is a fantastic player and would fit well with the Bulls up-tempo style. We could even win with him. But the Bulls would still have the same problem that they currently have, no interior scoring. Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash may be dominating the league, but each of those players also has a talented low post scorer. Dominant PGs may be the current trend, but the two of the teams in the Conference Finals do not have a dominant PG. The Lakers use Derek Fisher as the PG and Celtics use Rajon Rondo. It's nice to have a dominant PG, but you do not need one to win a championship. What you do need is a dominant scorer and a low post threat.

Beasley's game fits so well into the Bulls system, it's almost scary. The Bulls desperately need a low post scorer to take pressure off the Bulls collection of perimeter players. This is why the Bulls had such a bad year shooting the ball. Opposing coaches knew where the points were coming from. Despite that fact that he is a rookie, teams will have to respect the damage he can do inside. If an opposing big man takes away his low post game he can turn to his face up game. On top of that, the Bulls are excellent at the drive and kick game, and Beasley will have to be covered in that situation as well because he can hit from the perimeter. A frontcourt of Beasley, Noah and Deng has the potential to be unreal. Suddenly the strength of the team goes from guards to forwards. Noah should be much better this year, but has already displayed a knack for defense, rebounding an interior passing. Imagine for a second Beasley and Noah in a High-low situation. Noah is an good finisher around the basket, and Beasley would have to be respected there because of his perimeter shooting. Deng is an excellent all-around player who would thrive cutting to the basket when Beasley gets doubled in the low post. Beasley is not a bad defender himself, he is just not a dominating defender, certainly not a fault. With all that going on in the middle, it would take pressure off the guards and create open jump shot and driving lanes. Beasley is athletic enough to play small forward in the NBA. How does this lineup look for stretches of the game:

PG-Thabo Sefalosha

SG-Loul Deng

SF-Michael Beasley

PF-Drew Gooden

C-Joakim Noah

The scary part of that lineup is that all of those players are athletic enough to play those positions, and have with some success. Think of the nightmares that this lineup would cause on the defensive end. If you want to go really big, you can stick Aaron Gray in at center for a truly enormous lineup. Say you want to go to a lightning fast lineup:

PG-Kirk Hinrich

SG-Ben Gordon

SF-Thabo Sefalosha

PF-Loul Deng

C-Michael Beasley

Name me one center fast enough to guard Beasley on the perimeter, and he would have to venture out there due to Beasley's ability to hit the three. Due to Beasley and Deng, most shot blockers would be out of the lane, thus creating space for driving lanes. This lineup could only be played for a short amount of time, but that damage done in that 2-3 minutes could be devastating to the other team.