There’s no way to put this mildly: The Michael Beasley free agent signing by the Phoenix Suns last summer was a disastrous one for the franchise.
It led to the firing of head coach Alvin Gentry midway through last season, and when things had completely fallen apart by year’s end, it resulted in the firing of GM Lance Blanks.
The Suns wanted nothing to do with Beasley the basketball player anymore following last season, and his multiple run-ins with the law in situations off the court made him undesirable to the organization as a person, as well.
(Shoutout to my media colleagues in Phoenix who were in attendance for one or more of Blanks’ press conferences last summer.)
The Suns parted ways with Beasley after negotiating a buyout of his contract, and while that makes him an unrestricted free agent, he would seem to be toxic enough right now that an addition to an NBA team in the near future would appear to be a long shot, at best.
But at least one club has an interest.
From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:The two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat are considering the possibility of bringing back troubled free-agent forward Michael Beasley, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Several of the Heat’s key veteran players are supportive of the signing of Beasley, and he has a strong interest in returning to the franchise responsible for taking him with the second overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, sources told Yahoo.
No offer has been made and no deal is considered imminent, sources said.
Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, who covers the Heat in Miami, backs up that last part, saying “there’s nothing to Beasley reunion reports.” And Joe Goodman, Heat beat writer for the Miami Herald, reports there’s “no chance” the Heat would sign Beasley.
But you could see how the rumor might get started.
Miami has strong veteran leaders in place in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen who would in theory keep Beasley in line from a basketball standpoint, and given the amount of attention those players attract, the Beasley story (if he flamed out once again) wouldn’t be all that exciting in a Heat locker room that has many far more interesting angles for the media to pursue.
Then, of course, we have the fact that Beasley played his first two seasons in Miami, so Pat Riley has a level of familiarity with him that might make a reunion intriguing.
Just because the initial report was quickly shot down by other sources doesn’t mean it isn’t something to watch. If Beasley cleans up all of his outstanding legal issues and proves ready to take his next chance seriously, he could very easily be added to the roster at some point later in the season.