Remember the Michael Beasley at Kansas State? He killed people from the post. He was an amazing finisher at the rim, with either hand. He could face up and blow by anyone. He worked hard off the ball. He was so fluid. He had 13 30 point, 10 rebound games. He looked like a man among boys at Kansas State.
When he got with the men in the NBA, he looked different. Small, and bothered by the long arms and challenged shots at the next level. He was chased out of the post, last season taking more shots from 16 feet on out than he did at the rim (and not hitting them, he shot 39 percent on long twos and 27.5 percent from three). Then there was spending last summer in league-imposed substance-abuse treatment. He has not been terrible, but he has been pretty average on the court. Which is not what is expected out of the number two pick overall.
How far has he fallen? He was offered to the New Jersey Nets for Keyon Dooling, and the Nets said no. That came up on ESPN’s daily NBA podcast Wednesday.
Our own Ira Winderman said in the South Florida Sun Sentinel the reason is it is all about the money.
This fall is just a little reminder of how precarious any draft pick, even ones that seem the sure thing, can be.