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Heat Land Beasley
“We love Michael. He’s an incredible athlete. He’s a great scorer. I don’t even want to get into talking with you about the numbers we’ve analyzed. They’re really off the charts.”
Pat Riley, we are glad you made it easy for Heat fans today – even if it required an assist from Randy Pfund and the rest of the Heat’s scouting department.
Sure there was talk about OJ Mayo and Jerryd Bayless, but you had to think it was just Riley being Riley. As the team president, he had a duty to make sure all tires where kicked and everything was checked out under the hood. The Heat made the right choice – drafting the most talented player in the entire draft #2. In some ways, I feel like the Heat got a steal because Beasley, by all rights, should have been drafted #1 overall.
Realistically, the Heat were locked in with picking Beasley. Erik Spoelstra, the Heat’s new caretaker, characterized the talk about not taking Beasley as a non-issue. “In the last couple days, we felt very comfortable that if he was available we were very excited to take the pick,” Spoelstra said.
Where there other deals on the table? You bet, but Riley has maintained all along it had to be something that blew him away. “They were good players,” Riley said in regards to the possible trade scenarios. “But I think this kid’s going to be a great player.”
And is Beasley here for the long haul? Sure seems that way – both Beasley and his entourage say he is excited to be living in Miami. The Heat also say the same thing about keeping Beasley, “Michael is definitely picked to play for the Heat,” Spoelstra said.
What can we expect from Beasley, the Little Apple transplant who spent one year at Kansas State who is now becoming a resident of South Beach? Frank Martin, Beasley’s lone college coach and a Miami native and FIU graduate, said “It’s a franchise since Pat Riley’s been there that’s been a regular in the playoffs and won a championship just a few short years ago. They are all about working and competing and that’s what Mike’s about. I think it’s a perfect marriage.”
Now Beasley can stop answering questions about his immaturity – he is only 19 for God’s sake! – and focus on playing basketball.
It will be interesting to see how he comes into camp. Right away, he is going to come in with a pair of players that were rivals of his in college – the two Kansas Jayhawks Darnell Jackson and Mario Chalmers. One thing is for sure, there is mutual admiration for everyone involved. “My hard work finally paid off, and I won’t stop working. I’m going to continue to work and try to ride this thing out,” Beasley said.
And he’ll do it in a Heat jersey. Alongside Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion. Not a bad first gig coming out of college.
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