Miami Heat President Pat Riley should have trusted his gut with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA draft and taken O.J. Mayo instead of Michael Beasley.
Riley, long known for his purported arrogance, seems to have gone soft as he should have refused to listen to the fans, sports analysts, mock draft pundits, and his own basketball people who convinced him that Beasley, then a freshman power forward out of Kansas State, was a better pro prospect than USC freshman combo guard O.J. Mayo.
Beasley was considered the consensus No. 2 selection prior to the draft by nearly the entire basketball world. Yet, despite his blatant offensive genius, it was reported by ESPN that his personality was a major turnoff and cause of concern for Riley.
Riley was instead rumored to be enamored with Mayo, whom he felt could be a lethal pairing with superstar Dwayne Wade. Riley felt that Mayo’s ball handling, passing ability, limitless shooting range, and sticky defense pro ...
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Article written by Benjamin Klein