Malik Beasley: Allegations of Gambling

[BadMofoPimp]

If they did sign him and he got banned, would the team be able to sign a player for something similar to the injury exception?

[Snakebites]

If they did sign him and he got banned, would the team be able to sign a player for something similar to the injury exception?

Good question. Unsure but a ban won’t happen in the next few days/weeks- most free agent and trade action will.

[Invictus88]

This is brutal but I agree we likely have to move on to someone else. Honestly makes more sense to keep one of THJ or Schroeder now.

No. It makes much more sense to go after NAW (who is an upgrade defensively and still realtively young) or go hard after a 4 with range (Aldama?) in response to the news.

Ivey does everything that THJ does with exception of taking charges and does it better. He also can be counted on as a 3rd pg.

Looks like we really do have to hope Lanier outperforms his draft position...

I hope we get Schroeder back on a reasonable contract only.

[ComboGuardCity]

This is brutal but I agree we likely have to move on to someone else. Honestly makes more sense to keep one of THJ or Schroeder now.

No. It makes much more sense to go after NAW (who is an upgrade defensively and still realtively young) or go hard after a 4 with range (Aldama?) in response to the news.

Ivey does everything that THJ does with exception of taking charges and does it better. He also can be counted on as a 3rd pg.

Looks like we really do have to hope Lanier outperforms his draft position...

I hope we get Schroeder back on a reasonable contract only.

Is he an upgrade defensively? I feel like he was hunted in the playoffs

[thesack12]

Sure this is just allegations and speculation at the moment (at least from what we know publicly), but the guy has already proven that he's prone to not making the best of decisions. Keeping illegal weapons and narcotics in your home usually isn't a great idea, let alone pointing guns at people.

Not even considering the character aspect, there is probably a reason why this guy is a career journeyman. Detroit was his 5th team in the last four years.

He's not worth the potential headache, nor worth waiting on.

As someone else mentioned earlier in the thread, Beasley himself was a bargain type signing that came a bit later on in free agency. So personally, I don't see much of a reason to panic trying to replace him and potentially hand out an unsavory contract. Let the market marinate a bit, and see what shakes out.

[Invictus88]

This is brutal but I agree we likely have to move on to someone else. Honestly makes more sense to keep one of THJ or Schroeder now.

No. It makes much more sense to go after NAW (who is an upgrade defensively and still realtively young) or go hard after a 4 with range (Aldama?) in response to the news.

Ivey does everything that THJ does with exception of taking charges and does it better. He also can be counted on as a 3rd pg.

Looks like we really do have to hope Lanier outperforms his draft position...

I hope we get Schroeder back on a reasonable contract only.

Is he an upgrade defensively? I feel like he was hunted in the playoffs

You know more than me if you saw it withyour own eyes. The interwebs say NAW is a strong on-ball defender which, if true, is a clear upgrade from Beasley on that end of the floor.

[Invictus88]

Sure this is just allegations and speculation at the moment (at least from what we know publicly), but the guy has already proven that he's prone to not making the best of decisions. Keeping illegal weapons and narcotics in your home usually isn't a great idea, let alone pointing guns at people.

Not even considering the character aspect, there is probably a reason why this guy is a career journeyman. Detroit was his 5th team in the last four years.

He's not worth the potential headache, nor worth waiting on.

As someone else mentioned earlier in the thread, Beasley himself was a bargain type signing that came a bit later on in free agency. So personally, I don't see much of a reason to panic trying to replace him and potentially hand out an unsavory contract. Let the market marinate a bit, and see what shakes out.

I think there is an opportunity cost to waiting for Beasley and foregoing other folks like Aldama, NAW or even Schroeder to some extent.

The timing is terrible in that aspect. It's almost a given that we have to move on. We just can't afford to wait and have him be found guilty. All the best options will be gone.

[thesack12]

Sure this is just allegations and speculation at the moment (at least from what we know publicly), but the guy has already proven that he's prone to not making the best of decisions. Keeping illegal weapons and narcotics in your home usually isn't a great idea, let alone pointing guns at people.

Not even considering the character aspect, there is probably a reason why this guy is a career journeyman. Detroit was his 5th team in the last four years.

He's not worth the potential headache, nor worth waiting on.

As someone else mentioned earlier in the thread, Beasley himself was a bargain type signing that came a bit later on in free agency. So personally, I don't see much of a reason to panic trying to replace him and potentially hand out an unsavory contract. Let the market marinate a bit, and see what shakes out.

I think there is an opportunity cost to waiting for Beasley and foregoing other folks like Aldama, NAW or even Schroeder to some extent.

The timing is terrible in that aspect. It's almost a given that we have to move on. We just can't afford to wait and have him be found guilty. All the best options will be gone.

Personally, I'm not all that concerned about replacing Beasley. He's just not that big of a talent. We just saw his absolute pinnacle, he will inevitably take a step (or 2) back. If he ever gets to put on another NBA uniform.

A handful of good teams, have decided they are good with moving on from Beasley and he's never been all that expensive. That's telling to me.

I think Ivey will be fine to fill Beasley's role. Granted with a different skillset.

[BadMofoPimp]

Sasser better hit the Gym hard practicing 3's and get that shimmy down.

[Rip32]

This is brutal but I agree we likely have to move on to someone else. Honestly makes more sense to keep one of THJ or Schroeder now.

No. It makes much more sense to go after NAW (who is an upgrade defensively and still realtively young) or go hard after a 4 with range (Aldama?) in response to the news.

Ivey does everything that THJ does with exception of taking charges and does it better. He also can be counted on as a 3rd pg.

Looks like we really do have to hope Lanier outperforms his draft position...

I hope we get Schroeder back on a reasonable contract only.

The whole team has to get better. Relying on the 37th pick is crazy; although, we will help some.

[BadMofoPimp]

Ok, can the Pistons get Chris Levert cheap?

[Rip32]

This maybe a blessing in disguise. Other players will definitely step up.

[Invictus88]

This is brutal but I agree we likely have to move on to someone else. Honestly makes more sense to keep one of THJ or Schroeder now.

No. It makes much more sense to go after NAW (who is an upgrade defensively and still realtively young) or go hard after a 4 with range (Aldama?) in response to the news.

Ivey does everything that THJ does with exception of taking charges and does it better. He also can be counted on as a 3rd pg.

Looks like we really do have to hope Lanier outperforms his draft position...

I hope we get Schroeder back on a reasonable contract only.

The whole team has to get better. Relying on the 37th pick is crazy; although, we will help some.

I agree completely. I've made several posts saying we can't rely on #37 as a replacement for Beasley's production... but we might not have a choice....

[DetroitSho]

2 takes I can't stand:
1. guy is dynamite all season, carrying us to several wins, and has a bad week in April. "I didn't want him back anyway, he wasn't good in a 6 game sample size". Yeah let's get rid of Cade too since he shrunk mightily in multiple instances as well.

2. Decent or JAG player plays out of his mind in the playoffs, and he picks up steam around here that we should be willing to drop a bag for them. Then Ben Gordon shows up in your town.

This situation not withstanding, Beasley was EXTREMELY important to this team. His skillset fits this team ridiculously well, and I'm not letting a bad week dissuade me from wanting him back. With that said, I say you pivot to NAW on the MLE since he's actually a big guard that can shoot, defend, and help with ballhandling duties. I feel like this will hinder what Beasley could potentially make out on the market so there's an opportunity to sign him to a non-bird contract on a 2 year deal with an option on the 2nd year if the dust settles and we find there was nothing there.

Sent from my SM-S918U using RealGM mobile app

[Snakebites]

2 takes I can't stand:
1. guy is dynamite all season, carrying us to several wins, and has a bad week in April. "I didn't want him back anyway, he wasn't good in a 6 game sample size". Yeah let's get rid of Cade too since he shrunk mightily in multiple instances as well.

I agree with this. I do think it’s valid to wonder how reproducible this season was for him. Not based on the playoffs but on his career up to this point.

Despite some misgivings I was in favor of re-signing him- I’d have needed to see what the final contract looked like of course but the reported 3/42 deemed fine for him.

That said I still see scenarios here where we come out of this alright. I think NAW fits very well with what we have- he’s a downgrade to Beasley as a scorer but would also be an upgrade in other ways.

If we can get him of course.

[BadMofoPimp]

Google AI says:

Federal authorities are investigating Beasley for potential gambling violations, including betting on NBA games and prop bets, specifically during the 2023-24 season.
The Timeline:
The investigation focuses on unusual betting patterns observed around January 2024, including a specific game against the Portland Trail Blazers where a large amount of money was bet on Beasley having fewer than 2.5 rebounds, which ultimately did not happen.
Beasley's Role:
While Beasley hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing, the investigation is ongoing, and the NBA is cooperating with authorities.

[tradez401]

was not expecting to seeing this kind of news right before FA was lookin forward seeing Threesley back in a Pistons uniform next season now that probably wont happen. hopefully trajan has a solid backup plan for this.

[GreekAlex]

I sure hope he comes back and this goes the way of the Terry Rozier issue.

[Mr Peanut]

This is obviously terrible news. Beasley was such a big part of our team last season, both in production but also team culture.

But agree with others that we can't wait on him and have to move on to other options. If Beasley does end up eventually being cleared (who knows when that will be) then hopefully we could sign him to a vet min contract and then look to pay him later if he still produces at a high level.

[VicVinegar]

There's tons of shooters out there. Beasley will be missed mainly as a character guy. For that reason, you almost have to bring back THJ. The guys were having fun this season and that's a big reason they were playing better, and Beasley was a big part of that fun. It certainly helped that he wasn't a part of the losing culture the past 4 years and came in with a postive attitude.

Absolutely sucks, but possible scenario is he gets cleared of allegations after free agency, and basically the only offer he has available is league minimum (Have to imagine teams will have used their MLEs and/or think he's damaged goods), and decides to sign with the Pistons. Terry Rozier still played despite federal investigation because the NBA did their own investigation and found no evidence. It's possible Beasley could be a similar case.

I think the biggest red flag is that (to my knowledge) Beasley and his representative have not denied the allegations.