Gambling investigation derails Malik Beasley's free agency
Instead, his future seems very uncertain.
He's a free agent and facing some serious off-court issues — including being part of an investigation surrounding what's believed to be unusual betting patterns on games and now some unrelated legal matters involving his personal finances.
Beasley was a key part of the Detroit Pistons this past season, averaging 16.3 points per game for a team that made the playoffs and was one of the feel-good stories in the NBA — winning 44 games after winning only 14 in the previous season.
Some questions and answers about Beasley's current situations and his future:
Beasley has not been charged with any crime. Federal investigators, who have not commented publicly, are looking into betting patterns surrounding some games Beasley played in during the 2023-24 season when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The primary focus of the probe is what are called 'prop bets,' ones where bettors can wager if a player will go over or under a certain statistical total — like will he score more than 10.5 points, grab 5.5 or more rebounds, that sort of thing.
It is similar to other investigations — such as the one that led to the banning of then-Toronto player Jontay Porter from the league. Terry Rozier, who plays for the Miami Heat, was a subject of a similar probe surrounding part of his time with the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier was never charged and never faced any penalty from the NBA.
ESPN reported that one game in question surrounded Beasley's performance on Jan. 31, 2024, and in particular whether he would get more or less than 2.5 rebounds. Bettors, ESPN was told, wagered large sums that he would not get that many rebounds. But Beasley got six rebounds that night, meaning those 'under' bets did not pay out.
News of the gambling probe broke on Sunday, followed by news of lawsuits two days later — including one brought by a sports representation agency that is seeking more than US$2-million in damages.
That suit, brought by Hazan Sports Management Group, says Beasley breached his contract and failed to fully repay a US$650,000 advance, among other issues. Beasley and that agency parted ways in recent months, even though it negotiated a US$6-million contract for him to play with the Pistons this past season.
'I have been with Malik for a long time, I have seen a lot of people around him come and go, but I have stayed away from any of his financial management or mismanagement or decisions he would make with money,' Beasley's criminal defence lawyer, Steve Haney, told The Detroit News.
'I'm his lawyer. I don't get involved in his finances,' Haney told the newspaper. 'You hope to get them around the best business people and planners and management people. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.'
Other issues that were revealed involved rent payments, along with a settlement with a dentist and even a barber who works with a number of NBA players.
The NBA has seen a huge spike in dependency on the three-point shot in recent years, and Beasley — who made 319 of them this past season, one back of Minnesota's Anthony Edwards for the most in the league — is an elite three-point shooter.
Only two players have made more than 1,000 threes over the last four seasons. Golden State's Stephen Curry, the league's all-time three-point king, is one. Beasley is the other.
This means Beasley should be in high demand, given the fact that he has a skill all teams crave. And the Pistons, according to a person with knowledge of the talks, were prepared to offer Beasley a three-year contract to stay. But given the seriousness of the issues that have come up in recent days, those talks cooled.
On Tuesday, Detroit struck a deal to bring in former Miami guard Duncan Robinson — another elite three-point shooter — after striking a three-year deal.
Beasley is a free agent, meaning he can sign with any team. Outside of the off-court concerns, here's another problem: very few teams have the means available under the salary cap to give a new player a contract in the range of what Beasley would be worth, which is probably in the US$15-million annually range.
He may have to accept something much, much smaller — possibly even a minimum deal of about US$3-million — to have a chance with a team next season.
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