Michael Beasley is having a fantastic summer. And yes, I’m mostly talking about his incredible interview with Taylor Rooks where they argued about a topic so absurd that my words would never do it justice. You just need to watch the footage.
On the court, Beasley is slowly improving his reputation around the NBA. He’s coming off a statistically-impressive comeback season in Milwaukee where he posted averages of 9.4 points, 0.9 assists, and 3.4 rebounds on .532 shooting from the field, and .419 shooting from three in just 16.7 minutes per game. Those aren’t all-star numbers by any stretch, but considering where Beasley was and where he is now, it’s night and day. He’s turned himself into a reasonably effective NBA player. Credit where credit is due.
Beasley signed a 1-year, $2.1 million contract with the New York Knicks this summer, and at the time, it looked like he’d be playing on the wing behind Carmelo Anthony. Of course, Melo was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in September, theoretically opening up a lot more minutes for Beasley. While that might not necessarily be a good thing for the Knicks, the rest of us will be thoroughly entertained.
Bleacher Report profiled Michael Beasley heading into the 2017-18 season, and among the many fascinating quotes posted throughout that article was Beasley, deadly serious, comparing his talent to the NBA’s elite, namely LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
“As far as talent-wise, I match up with Kevin [Durant], LeBron, I match up with the best guys in the world,” Beasley says. “I’m not being cocky; it’s just always how I felt. But I got into trouble as soon as I got into the NBA, and it left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.”
I’m willing to ride with Beasley to a point, but this is where I’d pump the breaks. Beasley became a positive NBA player in Milwaukee this season, but we’re talking about LeBron James and Kevin Durant here. We’re talking about league MVPs. We’re talking about NBA Finals winners. We’re talking about NBA Finals MVPs.
If Beasley was that guy, regardless of whatever character flaws he may or may not have, he wouldn’t be making $2.1 million to play for the Knicks this season. His prior off-court issues aren’t keeping his salary and opportunities down by themselves. Players with far worse off-court issues have made a lot more money than Beasley because talent is almost everything in professional sports. If you can play, owners and general managers will overlook a lot to keep you around.
On the other hand, I can certainly respect Beasley’s mindset. A big part of success in professional sports is confidence, and Beasley has never lacked that. The good news is, with Melo out of New York, Beasley might just get enough playing time to prove it.
