ESPN's reporter points out the key red flag that triggered the investigation into Malik Beasley: "When they move the odds and the bettors just keep betting it"
Malik Beasley is facing an investigation over claims he wagered on games he participated in. ESPN's David Purdum, who covers sports betting, explains what set off the alarm and how oddsmakers usually detect suspicious behavior.
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"When bookmakers really are convinced that something untoward is going on," Purdum said on "The Dan Patrick Show," "When they move the odds. So, a prop bet may be over/under 2.5 for rebounds or whatever. Instead of moving, you know up to 4.5, they'll adjust the big on if you wanna bet the over, it may be -200."
"When they adjust the odds and the bettors don't stop betting it, and just keep betting it even though these odds have moved against them, it is a major red flag," added Purdum.
Beasley's suspicious activity
As Purdum highlighted, as soon as bookmakers note this trend, they sometimes egregiously move the odds by design. If the bets still keep pouring in after moving the odds, it's usually a sign that somebody is trying to game the system.
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Beasley's suspicious activity raised some eyebrows beginning in January 2024. He was still in the middle of a one-season stint with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he started 77 games and shot a 41 percent clip from deep.
Last year, the NBA banned Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter for his participation in a similar gambling scandal. Reports indicate that Porter revealed information about his health status in advance to other bettors. It was also disclosed that he placed bets in at least 13 games using a friend's account.
Although none of these 13 games involved the Raptors, the NBA has a strict no-gambling policy for players, coaches and employees.
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Beasley's contract negotiations stalled because of the ongoing investigation. After making 319 three-pointers last season, second in the league behind Anthony Edwards (320), he was supposed to return to the Detroit Pistons on a multi-year deal.
Related: "I rather get away from the game a little bit" - Michael Jordan on why he never saw himself becoming an NBA head coach
The Internet doesn't let you play games
Following Beasley's predicament, former NBA veteran Matt Barnes weighed in on the situation in the latest episode of the "All the Smoke" podcast. As Barnes observed, the Internet checked the receipts as soon as news of Beasley's possible gambling involvement surfaced.
"All these little videos are coming up. This MFer got a rebound and went Game 7 speed and dunked the ball when they were down nine," Barnes said, sounding puzzled by Beasley's alleged illegal activity. "He looked stressed out right before. The Internet doesn't let you play games."
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"This gambling s***, I don't get it. You're getting too much money in this game to jeopardize that," he added.
Gambling on relatively small bets for a player making millions feels like an unnecessary risk with outsized consequences. The risk-reward calculus doesn't make any sense. The NBA has already clarified that any proven involvement in betting, especially on one's own games, would be akin to a death sentence for one's career. Yet, there it goes again.
Beasley's situation echoes that reality. After a strong shooting season and a likely eight-figure payday ahead, he now finds himself in limbo over wagers that pale in comparison to his potential earnings. It's a steep price to pay for something that never should have been worth the gamble.
Related: "People don't know how strong that guy is" - Kevin McHale on Larry Bird's most underrated trait as a player
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
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That jurors found Combs not guilty shows they were unconvinced, either of the existence of a so-called 'enterprise' – a key piece of any racketeering case – or that he and others committed the underlying crimes that would support a conviction. The charge comes from the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, which was passed by Congress in 1970 to prosecute organized crime. Racketeering is not a single, specific crime, but a framework for prosecuting many different crimes; in a RICO case, these are called 'predicate acts.' In Combs' case, prosecutors specifically argued the defendant and members of his inner circle had engaged in crimes involving kidnapping, arson, forced labor, bribery and sex trafficking. To convict, jurors would have needed to find Combs and at least one other person committed at least two predicate acts within a ten-year window. The use of RICO in Combs' case, while not entirely novel, was unusual in that he was charged alone. Jurors did not hear direct testimony from many of the people who would have been members of the alleged enterprise – namely his closest employees, like his chief of staff or some of his security guards. And legal analysts had wondered whether the evidence presented at trial had clearly linked Combs' alleged criminal acts to an enterprise. In their closing argument, the government offered jurors a roadmap, outlining the charge, the elements needed to prove it and the parts of their case that would support a conviction. Still, the argument did not persuade jurors. Combs' acquittal on sex trafficking charges is a big blow to the prosecutors for the Southern District of New York – and to his accusers, Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane,' each of whom spent days testifying, recounting years of abuse they said they suffered from Combs. While prosecutors accused Combs of sex trafficking as a predicate act under the umbrella of racketeering conspiracy, they also charged him with two separate counts of sex trafficking, one each for Ventura and Jane. To prove sex trafficking, prosecutors needed to prove Combs compelled the women to participate in commercial sex acts through force, fraud or coercion. And jurors were presented with myriad examples of alleged physical violence and financial control. Regarding Ventura, prosecutors contended physical force was illustrated in one instance by the InterContinental Hotel surveillance footage showing Combs assault Ventura in 2016 – first published by CNN. Testimony by both women suggested some level of financial or professional control; Ventura signed to Combs' record label at just 19, and prosecutors agued he controlled her career. Jane, meanwhile, testified she and Combs entered into a 'love contract' where he agreed to pay her $10,000 rent, but that he threatened to cut her off financially if she stopped participating in 'hotel nights.' Combs' attorneys had acknowledged physical abuse, but argued throughout the trial that domestic violence did not amount to sex trafficking. Prosecutors also told the jury they weren't suggesting every 'Freak Off' and 'hotel night' were instances of sex trafficking. Both Ventura and Jane testified they were willing to try the sexual encounters in the beginning of their relationships with Combs. The jury's verdict suggests prosecutors did not prove the elements needed to convict – like the force, fraud and coercion. 'My heart in this moment is going out to Cassie,' said Dream Hampton, the executive producer of 'Surviving R. Kelly.' 'I can't imagine what she's feeling.' 'I'm afraid that with Puff walking from the more serious charges that he's – not only him, the whole entire discourse – I just wonder what we're going to learn from this,' Hampton added. Combs was convicted, however, on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution, each of which pertained to Ventura or Jane and the men Combs paid to have sex with them. Those charges were more straightforward than the other, and prosecutors merely needed to prove that people crossed state lines to engage in prostitution. Both women testified to having 'Freak Offs' or 'hotel nights' in a variety of locales, and prosecutors presented documents to bolster that testimony, including flight records, American Express charges and hotel invoices for Combs' former girlfriends and the men. 'What was clearer throughout this trial was acts of prostitution that were supported by airplane records, payments and so on – information that would just be hard to deny,' said Williams. 'There were sex acts, no one disputes that, and they were paid for. And there's a paper trail linking the defendant to them. That was far more straightforward for the prosecution to prove compared to some of the other things.' Prior to trial, Combs' defense unsuccessfully lobbied for the transportation to engage in prostitution charges, which stem from the Mann Act, to be dismissed, citing the statute's 'racist origins.' Attorneys for Combs have previously accused the government of racism, allegations the government denied. Doug Wigdor, Ventura's attorney, acknowledged Wednesday's verdict was 'not the exact outcome we wanted' in an interview with CNN. 'Cassie prompted this investigation…and now Sean Combs stands before the court as a convicted felon of two federal crimes. He faces significant incarceration,' he said. While the verdict marks the beginning of the end of one legal chapter for Combs, he still faces legal trouble. Most immediately, he'll face sentencing for the prostitution charges for which he was convicted Wednesday. Each carries up to ten years, but CNN legal analysts indicated it's possible he serves less. 'Certainly very few people are ever sentenced to the top of the statutory maximum,' Williams said. 'So we should get the ten year or 20 year figure out of our heads. But he will go to jail for some time.' Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. In the meantime, his attorneys hope Combs will be released from federal custody while he waits. Judge Arun Subramanian asked the defense attorneys and prosecutors to submit letters on their positions about the possibility of releasing Sean 'Diddy' Combs ahead of a bail hearing Wednesday evening. 'Mr. Combs has been given his life by this jury,' said defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, as he argued for the judge to allow his client to return home. Combs also still faces a raft of civil lawsuits – nearly 70 have been filed so far, with several as recent as last week – accusing Combs of further wrongdoing, including sexual assault. Combs has denied all the allegations. Notably, civil claims carry a lower burden of proof. In the criminal trial, jurors needed to find Combs guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But in a civil case, the proof only needs to meet what's called a 'preponderance of the evidence,' or more likely than not.
