Just before New Year's, I wrote an article outlining which player each team would take if they were to win May's lottery.  I identified Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose as the two best players with O.J. Mayo being the third option if team's like Utah were already set at point guard and power forward.  A few months later Beasley and Rose have runaway from the rest of the pack and should be picks one and two regardless of how the current roster is constructed.  

Picking either Rose or Beasley should be an easy decision for the winner of Tuesday's lottery, as should the holder of the second pick, but what do you do if you have the third overall selection?

Team: Win, Place, Show

- Miami: Rose, Beasley, Lopez

If the Heat win the lottery, the decision will hinge on how much do they like Udonis Haslem.  Beasley makes the most sense because he gives them a second stand-alone scorer to complement Dwyane Wade (he'd likely become the primary scorer by 2010), but the fact of the matter is Haslem is substantially better than what they have and will likely be able to acquire at point guard.

In a perfect world, Miami would select Beasley and acquire Calderon/Ford in a trade.

- Seattle: Rose, Beasley, Lopez

The 07-08 season has been and continues to be Derrick Rose or bust for Seattle, but as we saw more of Kevin Durant on the NBA level, the more it looks like Beasley would be a very nice backup plan.  I don't think Durant will ever develop a dependable post-up game, so his buckets in the paint will continue to come off slashing and transition and plugging in Beasley will solve their halfcourt dilemmas.  

- Minnesota: Rose, Beasley, Lopez

Rose is easily Minnesota's preference with the number one overall pick, but despite the presence of Al Jefferson, Beasley is far too talented to pass up at number two.  Lopez is a nice consolation prize at three who will give them some surplus scoring and much-needed rebounding at the center position.

- Memphis: Beasley, Rose, Mayo

How much can the city of Memphis really love Rose after one year?  The Grizzlies already have a glut of point guards, and Beasley would be the ideal scorer to plug in at the four beside Rudy Gay.

- New York: Rose, Beasley, Mayo

Rose is the only person in the draft that can make a real dent in the Knicks' W-L column because of the way he makes everyone so much better.  I rate Bayless higher than Mayo, but I question if he has the compulsory passing abilities needed in Mike D'Antoni's system.

- L.A. Clippers: Rose, Beasley, Bayless

I expect Rose to be good enough soon enough for the Clippers to go on another playoff run during the Elton Brand-era.  If they're stuck with Beasley, they should immediately rebuild by trading away Brand, which should be easy to do despite his injury.

- Milwaukee: Rose, Beasley, Bayless

Rose is easily the choice for Milwaukee and would be the cure-all for their underachieving ways.  Bayless is the next best player available beyond the top-two, and he certainly would be a huge eventual upgrade at the point guard position.

- Charlotte: Beasley, Rose, Randolph

The addition of Beasley would make Raymond Felton seem like a better point guard and although Randolph would be a reach here, Bayless, Rose, Gallinari, and Lopez really wouldn't make sense.

- Chicago: Beasley, Rose, Lopez

The Bulls could certainly use a true point guard like Rose, but Beasley would immediately become their best interior scorer.  Lopez would mean more to Chicago with the third pick than any other club.

- New Jersey: Beasley, Rose, Randolph

The Nets would clearly choose Beasley over Rose, but the third selection would be highly problematic because of the trio of Harris, Carter, and Jefferson blocking the logical options at three, leaving Randolph as a high-talent flier to play power forward.

- Indiana: Rose, Beasley, Bayless

Picking Rose with the top selection would be easy, and I think Bayless would be a natural fit for the Pacers because of how well Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy handle the ball.

- Sacramento: Rose, Beasley, Bayless

The Kings have to be pretty wide open to any position except shooting guard.  They are in flux and don't have a real direction, but any of the aforementioned three players would greatly help them.

- Portland: Rose, Beasley, Bayless

If the Blazers were to get the second overall pick and lose out on Rose, they would almost certainly have to/get to make a trade for the point guard they need.  But Bayless would be an excellent third overall pick due to how phenomenal Brandon Roy is as a playmaking shooting guard.

- Golden State: Beasley, Rose, Speights

Taking Rose over Beasley would mean Baron plays out the final year of his contract and then leaves, but the K-State forward would immediately be their best rebounder, which is a position of dire need.  Picking Speights third may be entirely too soon, but he is such an ideal fit in their system I believe the Warriors would have to pull the trigger on the Florida four.