Beasley, Rose set for first meeting as professionals

MIAMI — Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley will be forever linked. That's an inevitability for players who get chosen No. 1 and No. 2 in an NBA draft.

So on some level, it's fitting their first pro game - one that won't have fans, won't count in standings and will likely be long forgotten in a few days - will pit them against one another. Rose's Chicago Bulls face Beasley's Miami Heat on Monday, one of three games that will open the Orlando summer league's weeklong schedule.

For a meaningless matchup, there's an abundance of big-game hype.

And it almost seems like neither 19-year-old can truly understand why.

"I didn't even know we're playing Miami first," Rose said. "I'm not going to be checking him."

"If you want to make it a Mike Beasley and Derrick Rose show, go ahead," Beasley said. "But that's not how it's going to be."

Fair enough.

Beasley, Rose set for first meeting as professionals....