Heat Set Up to Nab Beasley or Rose With Top Pick

By Bethlehem Shoals
As March Madness rolls around, this whole draft thing will become that much more real and immediate.
[img=http://i.tsn.com/i/photos/20080310/87444.jpg]
You won’t hear nearly as much about this year’s lottery standings as you did in 2007 -- Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose will be valuable, but no one’s predicting a league-changing bunch like last season. Then again, that estimate was off, and the oft-malingned Class of ‘06 ended up yielding studs Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, and solid contributors like Jordan Farmar and Rajon Rondo.
All we know for sure: It’s good to draft high, unless a team’s doomed to pick foolishly. Then, you’re better off trading said pick for someone else’s superstar, like Ainge did, and get called another kind of genius.
Anyway, over at FanHouse, Ziller’s broken down today’s latest ping-pong ball rankings. In increasing or, err, decreasing order, it’s Miami, Minnesota, Memphis, and Seattle. Proof that I don’t understand basketball that well: It’s more than a little strange that Miami, who boasts two model All-Stars and a Hall of Fame coach, are in line to nab this year’s top prospect. Minnesota, woeful as they are, at least have Al Jefferson to build around. On the other hand, Memphis is a shell of a shell of a team, and Seattle’s got to start realizing that they’ve got one of the league’s top young talents to nurture.
Plus, Miami is in the East. Two All-Stars, playing in that conference ... and still they’re in line to take the top pick? That, my friends, would be suspicious if the Heat weren’t so supernaturally awful this season. Like they sold their soul (to the refs?) for that championship and are now paying the price.
Update: Wade done for the year. You tell me: Is this tanking, proof of my Faust theory, or outright embarrassment?↵