RATING THE FORWARDS

Ira Winderman looks at the top forward prospects in Thursday's NBA Draft:

Player . . . School . . . Ht. . . . Comment

Michael Beasley . . . Kansas St. . . . 6-8 1/2 . . . Considered the most talented player in the draft

Kevin Love . . . UCLA . . . .6-9 1/2 . . . A skilled big man who lacks top-tier athleticism

Joe Alexander . . . West Virginia . . . 6-8 1/2 . . . A wildly athletic prospect who has surged of late

Anthony Randolph . . . LSU . . . 6-10 1/2 . . . .Needs his body to catch up with impressive skill set

Danilo Gallinari . . . Italy . . . 6-8 . .. Dirk Nowitzki comparisons appear to be a stretch

Marreese Speights . . . Florida . . . 6-10 . . . Build could make him better in NBA than college

Donte Green . . . .Syracuse . . . 6-9 . . . A scoring talent who may only be good, not great

Darrell Arthur . . . Kansas . . . .6-8 1/2 . . . A combo forward, but not dominant at either spot

Jason Thompson . . . Rider . . . 6-11 . . . Small-college prospect has been on the rise recently

JaVale McGee . . . Nevada . .. 7-0 . . .Workouts have taken toll, as has an overstated game

Of note

Beyond Gallinari, the draft is loaded with quality foreign prospects at the forward positions, including Serge Ibaka from the Congo and Nicolas Batum from France. The question is whether teams will take the gamble, based on recent returns on such investments.

As a group

Many of the draft's forwards are limited, with most bringing skill sets that make them specialists rather than future stars. It is one of the reasons Beasley has so distanced himself from other frontcourt options.