Top NBA pick is never a guaranteed star

Hearken back to 2005. Milwaukee had the top pick in the NBA draft, with Atlanta on deck.

The Bucks sought to decide between center Andrew Bogut and forward Marvin Williams.

The Hawks were ready to pounce on whomever the Bucks didn't take.

So who came out the winner?

Utah and New Orleans.

After Bogut went to Milwaukee and Marvin Williams to Atlanta, the Jazz took point guard Deron Williams at No. 3 and the Hornets selected point guard Chris Paul at No. 4.

Three years later, Deron Williams and Paul are stars and heading for the Olympics. Bogut and Marvin Williams merely are above-average pros.

So that should be a lesson, as Chicago, with Miami on deck, decides whether to take Memphis point guard Derrick Rose or Kansas State forward Michael Beasley with the top pick in Thursday's draft. If Rose is capable of one day being in the same conversation as Deron Williams and Paul, the decision is easy.

"It's easier to find a real good power forward than a real good point guard," said Jazz director of player personnel Walt Perrin. "The two hardest positions to find are center and point guard. If you've got a good point guard, he makes the other four players on the court better. If you've got a good power forward, one or two others are better."

Perrin heavily scouted Deron Williams and Paul before the 2005 draft. He said Rose has what it takes to be in their category.

So the decision is easy, right?

One would think so. But you know how teams are about drafting height.

If the 6-foot-3 Rose is drafted in front of Beasley, listed in college at 6-10, he would be the shortest No. 1 pick since 6-foot Allen Iverson in 1996.

Then again, that little guy turned out OK, didn't he?

Shrinking man:

Kansas State measured Beasley at 6-10.

Was he standing on a calculus textbook?

Each year, there is an incredible shrinking man in the NBA draft. This year, it's Beasley.

He measured just 6-7 without shoes in Orlando. He was 6-8 1/4 in shoes.

"It's disappointing to find out I'm a midget," Beasley said. "No matter if I'm 5 feet or 8-1, I'm the same player. I didn't know there was a height requirement for the NBA."

It's always intriguing when the NBA releases official height measurements. Some executives wondered whether UCLA forward Love plays in elevator shoes.

Love measured 6-7 3/4 barefoot. He was 6-9 1/2 with shoes.

"Does that mean he was wearing orthotics?" Nets president Rod Thorn asked. "It could very well be. How does somebody go up 1 and three-quarter inches?"

Like mother, like son:

The draft is full of notable offspring.

Georgetown's Patrick Ewing Jr. is the son of Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing. So what if he isn't likely to get drafted? It's a good story.

Kevin Love, a likely lottery pick, is the son of Stan Love, an NBA and ABA player from 1971 to 1975.

Oregon's Bryce Taylor could be a second-round pick. Father Brian Taylor played in the NBA and ABA from 1972 to 1982.

But Nevada center and likely first-rounder JaVale McGee is best known for his mother. Pam McGee helped lead Southern California to NCAA titles in 1983 and 1984, won an Olympic gold medal in 1984 and played in the WNBA.

While mom got a lot more accolades, JaVale McGee's dad wasn't too shabby, either. Burly George Montgomery played at Illinois and was a second-round pick by Portland in 1985 but never made the NBA.

Montgomery's nickname was "The Strongest Man in the World."

"He didn't get that from his father," quipped Perrin about flagpole-thin JaVale McGee.

It takes two:

The Van Arsdales couldn't do it. Neither could the Collinses. The Grants both went in the first round, yet in different drafts.

But the Lopez twins from Stanford are all but certain to both be first-round picks in the same draft. Brook Lopez is a likely lottery pick and Robin has quickly been climbing the draft charts.

"We've joked about ending up on the same team together," Brook Lopez said. "I know the teams with two picks in the first round (Seattle has Nos. 4 and 24 and New Jersey Nos. 10 and 21)."

The Lopez twins can better Tom and Dick Van Arsdale, second-round picks in 1965 from Indiana. But it must be said there were just nine teams then.

The Lopez big men can outpoint the Collins twins, who also attended Stanford. In 2001, Jason went in the first round but Jarron was a second-round pick.

Then there were the Grants, both upper-first-round picks. But because Harvey had a college redshirt season, he went No. 12 in 1988 after Horace had gone No. 10 in 1987.

(Chris Tomasson writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver)