In-Teague-ing Pick

I'm glad I didn't blog about the premature reports yesterday that the Bulls were planning to draft Tyshawn Taylor at No. 29.  That would have looked foolish.  I already jumped the gun on Twitter.  No way I wanted to do it twice.

The Bulls passed on Taylor, who stayed on the board until well into the second round.  Instead, they selected one of the one-year Kentucky wonders that won a national title, Marquis Teague.  Yes, he's the younger brother of Jeff Teague, the Atlanta point guard who showed flashes of greatness in last year's playoffs against the Bulls.  Marquis also plays the point, making it more likely C.J. Watson's on his way out.  We already learned in this year's postseaon that Watson's not the answer to back-up point.  Even if the same can't be said for Teague, I'd rather watch a rookie learn the ranks than an underperforming veteran.

Teague is athletic, quick with the first step and facilitates offenses effectively.  If he gets close to the rim, he'll finish.  While he has trouble with defenders on him, he certainly has potential to improve on that with his quarterbacking skills.  Nowadays, he's more scorer than playmaker, which is what he'll have to become if he's to have a long career in the league.

What role Teague plays this season remains to be seen.  If he's not ready to start in Derrick Rose's absence, the Bulls still need a veteran point guard.  Regardless, when Rose is healthy again, he could develop into a very reliable second man.  He'll hold down the fort as best he can until his future mentor comes back.  That alone will be interesting to watch.

This pick could also be telling of Rose's mentoring skills.  We know he's a natural leader on the floor, but how is he at teaching younger players the basics of being an NBA player?  Like Teague, Rose left college after only one year, meaning at the very least, they share similar backgrounds of younger days.  Of course, Teague won the national title whereas Rose came up a game short.  The major difference though is that Teague doesn't have the expectations Rose had coming out and Teague most certainly isn't being touted as a future MVP, at least not at this age.  That said, it'll be up to Rose to show him the ropes.  Since he's not in playing shape right now, the best he can offer is advice from the sidelines.

Teague, like everyone else, will have to go with the assumption that Rose might not play at all next season.  It'll be a tough challenge for him and he's likely to come under a lot of scrutiny in his rookie year.  If he plays enough, those expectations might soar a bit and folks in turn will waste no time criticizing him if he's not respectable.  I apologize in advance for any such things coming from me in the future, but I'll try to be as gentile as possible.

Welcome to Chicago, Marquis.  Hope you enjoy the great tradition this team has and you're watching every championship film from the '90s in your free time.