Of course, for every winner of the 2008 NBA Draft, there has to be corresponding losers. And there are certainly some losers when it comes to this edition of the NBA’s annual selection meeting.

New York Knicks: I’d be crazy not to start here with the Knicks’ selection of Danilo Gallinari. There is absolutely no doubt that this pick was influenced by Mike D’Antoni’s playing days in Italy with Gallinari’s father. D’Antoni clearly needed a stud PG at this spot with Stephon Marbury having no future in New York. Eric Gordon, D.J. Augustin or Jerryd Bayless would’ve all been good picks. Hell, even Brook Lopez would’ve been a better pick. Even if Gallinari pans out decently, it will take at least two or three years before he starts showing his worth. By then, who knows if D’Antoni is still around?

Milwaukee Bucks: So exactly what is the plan here, short-term and long-term? They just traded Bobby Simmons and Yi Jianlian, who possesses a game that management loves enough to trade him after just one season, for Richard Jefferson. The same RJ that has a huge contract that has three years left on it. And then they follow it up by drafting Joe Alexander, except Alexander plays at the same spot that RJ does, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Being a UCLA alum and having seen Mbah a Moute in action many times, I love his defensive tenacity and nose for the ball, but I really don’t see where he’s going to fit in unless he plays as an undersized backup PF. Then there are the rumors about the Bucks no longer wanting Michael Redd, except that he has a long-term contract that pays him like a franchise player when he really isn’t close to being one. If there’s a plan in Milwaukee, I’d like to see it.

Sacramento Kings: When I heard Jason Thompson’s name called, I, and I’m sure a LOT of Kings fans, were saying, “Who???” The Kings are screaming for a PG with Beno Udrih being an unrestricted free agent and most likely going to get some stupidly huge contract that he doesn’t deserve. They definitely got shafted when Bayless got taken one pick before, but that doesn’t absolve management of picking a guy that was rated to go in the lower half of the 1^st round. And not just that, but they drafted Spencer Hawes the year before! Their second round picks of Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing Jr. probably won’t make much of an impact, if any at all. This team overachieved last season with a roster that’s not particularly talented, and it’s going to be hard to sustain that kind of success without getting some talent in the draft. Taking Anthony Randolph here would’ve made more sense with his huge upside. For a fanbase that desperately needed some excitement, this did nothing but deflate them.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin McHale made the right pick. Al Jefferson and O.J. Mayo was the perfect inside-outside combo for the Wolves for years to come. Then he remembered who he was, and had to screw it up. The post-draft eight-player trade sent Mayo, Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker and Greg Buckner to the Wolves for Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins. Why McHale made this deal, I have no idea. It doesn’t make the Wolves championship contenders. Love and Jefferson are both PFs, but someone’s going to have to play C and neither are defensive studs. It definitely doesn’t put butts in the seats. The locals probably would’ve been excited to see Mayo in action, but I doubt anyone’s going to rush out to see Love. They’re probably going to end up winning more games with these players when the they should blow a few years and stock up on talent. Then again, McHale runs the show here so he’d probably make another boneheaded move.

Sure, we’re not going to know the true winners and losers of tonight’s NBA Draft for another couple years. After all, even the can’t-miss guys like Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley have yet to dribble a basketball in an NBA game. But before the dust is settled, here’s who I feel came out on top in tonight’s craziness.

Portland Trail Blazers: On the last three NBA Draft nights, I’ve watched the Trail Blazers build what will eventually become an NBA Champion. Tonight was no exception, as the Blazers dealt and dealt their way into some favorable spots in the draft. The Blazers made four initial selections in the draft and just a couple of hours later, they had a completely different list of players to show for it. Brandon Rush, Joey Dorsey, Omer Asik and Mike Taylor have transformed into the talented Jerryd Bayless, Donte Green, Sonny Weems, Nicolas Batum and even more picks for next year’s draft. General Manager Kevin Pritchard has worked the draft so well, he could probably assemble two competent NBA rosters.

New Jersey Nets: Since the Jason Kidd deal, this franchise has gone a long way in reinventing itself. While losing the scoring prowess of Richard Jefferson will hurt, the Nets can finally say they have the makings of a very good frontcourt in newly acquired Yi Jianlian and Stanford’s Brook Lopez, whom the Nets stole with the 10th overall pick. I had Lopez going 4th overall, so for the Nets to get him at #10, they must be happy. With another 1st round pick from Dallas (Thanks Cuban!), Jersey landed California’s Ryan Anderson, who can score from anywhere on the court. In the 2nd round, they found some more value in Memphis legend Chris Douglas-Roberts. One of the more complete scorers in college basketball, CDR should compliment Vince Carter nicely out on the perimeter. Hell, he might even compliment Mr. LeBron James in a few years…

Memphis Grizzlies: The night started in typical Grizzlies fashion, with a couple of uninspiring picks. But it ended with a bang, as the Grizz shipped off Kevin Love and Mike Miller for O.J. Mayo, considered the 3rd best player in the draft. Lets be real, here. Love is a solid prospect, but he doesn’t have the superstar potential you look for with a top five pick. Mayo does. And yes, the Grizzlies now inherit a couple of Minnesota’s god-awful contracts. But Mayo is a far better player than the combination of Love and Miller. The Grizz also appear to have won the Darrell Arthur sweepstakes.

With just about 24 hours to go until the 2008 NBA Draft, we can safely assume that the Chicago Bulls will make Derrick Rose the top overall selection. However, unlike last year with Kevin Durant, the #2 pick is becoming more and more of a toss-up. Michael Beasley, thought to be a lock to the Miami Heat for weeks, could see his stock slip tomorrow night. But why?

When it comes to the top overall selection, I’ve made my opinion very clear: Derrick Rose is the man that can take the Bulls back to glory. The playoff success of young point guards like Chris Paul, Deron Williams and even Rajon Rondo show the importance of a great floor general. Reports say the Miami Heat, concerned about Beasley’s character, are looking for a point guard to play alongside Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion.

How in the world can the Heat and Pat Riley be concerned about Beasley’s character, but ignorant of the same concerns that have plagued USC’s O.J. Mayo and Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless? Also, while both should be dynamite scorers in the league, both are relatively untested at the point guard position. If you’re not going to take the incredible scoring ability of Beasley, can you really entrust your franchise in a guy that didn’t even run the point in college?

Perhaps these rumors are all last minute bluffs by NBA teams the night before the draft. But rumors of trade-ups by New York and Milwaukee (for Mayo and West Virginia’s Joe Alexander, respectively) mean Beasley could be sitting in the green room much longer than first thought.

While talk about this year’s NBA Draft hasn’t reached full fervor yet, the debate of Derrick Rose vs. Michael Beasley has already begun. Much like last year’s draft in Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, this year’s class features two can’t-miss talents at the top. If we’ve learned anything so far this postseason, it’s that these lottery teams need an elite point guard to turn around their fortunes. That someone is Derrick Rose.

Lets rewind back to 2005, when elite college talents named Deron Williams and Chris Paul were taken 3rd and 4th overall. Three short seasons later, both Williams and Paul find themselves six wins away from the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, the guys taken before them, Andrew Bogut and Marvin Williams, have “carried” their teams to a whopping four postseason wins between them. Bogut is closely toeing the line of “bust” status and Williams’ raw potential is still just that…potential.

As for Williams and Paul, they’ve now brought their teams to the brink of “elite” status. In the last eight months, Paul has appeared on the cover of NBA 2k8, finished 2nd in MVP voting and triggered a 17 game turnaround for the Hornets. Not to be outdone, Williams helped the Jazz advance to the Western Conference Finals a season ago and is now giving the top-seeded Lakers all they can handle.

What’s this all mean for the team selecting 1st overall? It shows that with a great point guard, the effort of rebuilding becomes a lot more bearable. Lets take a look at the three teams with the best chance of landing the top pick: Miami, Seattle and Minnesota. The Heat boast a pair of veteran stars in Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion and could find themselves back in the postseason with Rose in the backcourt. The Sonics already have Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. If the ping pong balls bounced their way, Rose could find himself in Seattle with the daunting task of helping save basketball in Seattle. Minnesota? Well, with young guys like Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer and Randy Foye, Derrick Rose could be the backbone of a dangerous nucleus in the Twin Cities.

There’s no doubt Michael Beasley will be a very good NBA player. But in the end, he’s still another talented 6′9 guy that can score from everywhere. Beasley can score 20 points and 10 rebounds a game in his rookie year. But Derrick Rose can turn around a franchise as soon as he holds up a jersey and shakes David Stern’s hand. Easy choice, right?