The Minnesota Timberwolves offered to trade Michael Beasley to the Los Angeles Lakers for a first-round draft pick, but the Lakers turned them down, according to a league source.
While Beasley, a talented and athletic small forward, would fill one of the Lakers’ greatest needs, the Lakers rejected the offer because they do not want to add to their luxury tax bill, according to the source.
Broussard goes on to explain that Lakers owner Jerry Buss is no longer willing to simply spend money and have to take the resulting luxury-tax hit, which was the primary motivation behind the Lakers giving away Lamar Odom for the Mavericks’ trade exception when Odom asked to be traded before this off-season. The Lakers may also be saving that trade exception for a possible Bynum-for-Howard swap, although it’s looking increasingly unlikely that Howard will be moved before this year’s deadline.
Offensively, Beasley would certainly be an upgrade over Metta World Peace, who has looked completely washed-up this season and currently has an abysmal PER of 7.07. Beasley is a talented scorer who would help the Lakers stretch the floor -- Beasley is currently shooting 46% from beyond the arc, and the Lakers are currently 29th in 3-point accuracy.
However, the former #2 pick does still have some glaring holes in his game, which would explain the Lakers’ reluctance to trade for him. Beasley has been shooting the ball well from deep, but his overall FG% is just 44%, and he’s struggled at the line while turning the ball over nearly twice as often as he makes an assist. The former Kansas State’s star’s defense has also been a major issue throughout his career, which would make him a bad fit for Mike Brown’s defense-first coaching mentality.
Beasley is certainly talented -- he showed that with an incredible scoring performance against the Clippers last night -- but it looks like he has too many bad habits on the court and too much baggage off of it to make him a desirable target for the Lakers right now. We’ll see if anything comes of this rumor, but I would be surprised if Beasley wears a Laker jersey this season.