Michael Beasley
The Minnesota Timberwolves just acquired the most talented player they’ve had on their roster since Kevin Garnet. Although the trade of Michael Beasley, the 2nd pick in the 2008 NBA draft, was lost in the shuffle of the 3 L’amigos, this acquisition shouldn’t be lost on long suffering TWolves fans.
Getting a player with Beasley’s talent is one thing. Getting him for a low cost is another. But getting a team to hand over assets on top of it all is a steal. And a steal is exactly what David Khan negotiated.
After weeks of searching for a team to give up assets to take on Beasley, Heat GM Pat Riley basically gave up, and ended up paying the TWolves to take Beasley off of his hands. In return, the Twolves give up a 2nd round pick, but received the rights to Beasley, andhave the option of swapping first round picks with Miami in each of the next 7 years, an asset that could prove to be much more valuable than a 2nd round pick, should Miami have to rebuild.
Let’s put off on analyzing the set of circumstances that led to Miami giving up Beasley for a moment and talk about Beasley as an NBA player. The most intriguing aspect of Michael Beasley’s game, to me, is his ability to create his own shot off the dribble. Beasley can do this routinely at the PF position by either creating space for the J or by taking his opponent off the dribble andfinishing at the rim. In addition to his ability to create scoring opportunities, Beasley can rebound the ball, run the fast break, shoot the 3, and play interior defense. The guy can flat out score and that is a rare commodity in the NBA and something the Timberwolves need desperately.
Beasley on offense is a major mismatch. He has the speed to take most 4′s in the league off the dribble and has the strength to finish at the rim. His jump shot is such that he can pull up anytime and hit a shot when and if help comes. As intriguing as Beasley is as a PF prospect, he is even more intriguing to some at the SF position.
When Michael Beasley came into the league after averaging 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game at Kansas State, NBA execs compared him to Carmelo Anthony. Not a poor man’s Carmelo Anthony. Not Carmelo Anthony if he works on this and improves that. But Carmelo Anthony plus. Here’s his basketball prospectus profile.
Michael Beasley, Kansas State. Beasley would have been the NBA’s best rookie player last season had he been able to turn pro directly out of high school. Beasley is the complete package offensively, is a dominant rebounder and has NBA strength. (NBA Comp: a better-passing Carmelo Anthony without the over-reliance on jump shots)
So what happened? Michael Beasley has been in the NBA 2 years, and has averaged just 14 points and 6 rebounds per game. Let’s get into that.
Michael Beasley’s downside is both physical and mental. On the court, Beasley measured out to be 6’8” with shoes, 2” shorter than his stated playing height. His athleticism, as measured by vert, lane agility, and 3/4 sprint were good, but not spectacular for a player his stature. Glass half full commentators will call him a combo forward in the NBA. Glass half empty commentators will call him an NBA tweenerwithout a position. Too slow to defend the 3, and too short to play the 4.
Super Cool Beas
Off the court, Michael Beasley had a really bad few weeks in August of 2009. During that month, Beasley got a giant tattoo on his back that read “SuperCoolBeas”, which, if you are hanging out with the crew from Jackass, is probably a positive, but may otherwise seem immature. After getting the tattoo, Beasley allegedly made a series of suicidal twitter posts and eventually checked himself into a 30 day rehabilitation program for psychological issues and substance abuse.
So things are starting to make a bit more sense for TWolves fans. A team wouldn’t just go ahead and trade us a star player, since we can’t seem to draft one ourselves. They’ll trade us an underachieving star, but only if that player is a suicidal drug addict, and only if they have a bunch of better players lined up who don’t want to play with the guy who tattooed “SuperCoolBeas” across his back before threatening suicide over twitter. Makes sense. But we’ll still take him.
I think Pat Riley actually found the one team in the NBA who’s fans could get amped over adding Michael Beasley as a consolation prize to our 13M in cap space. It certainly beats waiting for Rubio.
