Michael Beasley is an unrestricted free agent, after Miami took a chance on him as a bit of a reclamation project last season.
Beasley was waived by the Suns last summer after multiple off-the-court incidents, but since he came into the league with the Heat, the franchise was hopeful that the familiarity there, along with the strong locker room presence that the championship team possessed would be enough to help him turn things around.
It didn’t work out that way, however, and after the Heat reportedly had plenty of reasons for not wanting to re-sign Beasley, his agent confirmed that Miami won’t be having him back next season.
From Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (via Basketball Insiders):No surprise here: Michael Beasley definitely won’t be back with the Heat, agent Jared Kearns said Tuesday. The Heat never made an offer, preferring instead to sign journeyman Shawne Williams, whose career hasn’t been nearly as productive as Beasley’s.
The Lakers twice have watched Beasley work out, and they remain a possibility for him. The Heat’s decision not to retain Beasley --- in spite of his offensive gifts --- ultimately came down to the coaching staff’s lack of complete trust in him. Defense and maturity issues were cited by one NBA official briefed on the Heat’s decision, though Beasley behaved more maturely last season than in his earlier stint with the Heat.
This comes as little surprise, of course, considering that Miami gave Beasley’s number away the moment they signed Shawne Williams.
The Heat citing maturity issues won’t help Beasley in his efforts to land somewhere else, though the second overall pick in the 2008 draft will still have teams taking a hard look at him in workouts, wondering if their situation might finally be the one where Beasley can find some focus, and play the game the way he was projected to all those years ago.
