Michael Beasley says he was blackballed from the NBA

[Big_Aristotle]

He seems high on that video.

[Big_Aristotle]

He seems high on that video.

[meekrab]

You don't play for 7 different teams (Miami twice!) if you're "blackballed" from the league. He was just never consistently good.

[mixerball]

cancer in the locker room, unseriousness, drugs etc.

teams just didnt want to deal with that anymore. everything is on him.

[jbsays]

As a Heat fan I had high hopes for Beasley. Every now and then he showed flashes his first two seasons, but nothing consistent. He wasn't really a 3 and he wasn't really a 4. He couldn't guard either position and his offense wasn't good enough to make up for it. He started every game his second season so it's not like he didn't get a shot. IIRC, he was listed as 6'10 at Kansas State and only measured 6'7 at combine.

[Sane]

The guys who claim conspiracies against them seem to always be the guys who didn't play defense.

Yeah if you don't know defense and teamwork are important, you're going to wonder why your 13 and 6 gets treated differently than other people's.

[Sixers in 4]

His brain is beyond fried. Don't do drugs, kids

[elchengue20]

Crazy talented but never figured out, on and off the court.

[Bologna Smasher]

He wasn't blackballed, but he probably should've had a few bigger roles on some of the teams he was on. Other than that, he had the type of career of you would except for someone of his skill set and weaknesses. One team (Timberwolves) gave him the freedom and chance that he's talking about in the video and all he showed was that he was an empty stats player on a bad team.

He and someone like Obi Toppin are basically the same type of player and look at the role Toppin plays in the NBA these days. Fantastic scorer, but because of their weaknesses, they're basically role-players/microwave scorers off the bench. Toppin has at least improved his defense a bit this year and doesn't have all the off court issues Beasley had.

It also says a lot about a players mentality and basketball IQ when all they throw out are scoring numbers without even factoring in the other aspects. Complete lack of self awareness, which is one of the reasons they never really went as far as they should've went with their talent.

[sp6r=underrated]

He was a below average by box score and plus/minus stats. Teams tried to make him the feature role and it failed utterly. He never developed the skills to transition to a supporting role on either end and teams generally shipped him out when they were ready to make the move up. This doesn't make him a bad human being but he wasn't a great locker room guy because his effort was lackadaisical and his understanding of team strategies was low.

Despite that he made it eleven years because NBA teams kept hoping they could figure out how to get him to have the same impact he did in the NCAA. Overall he got a lot longer rope than end of the 1st Round Picks with similar career starts. And probably longer than other top 10 busts.

[willywazza]

Well he wasn't entirely accurate with the Jayson Tatum rookie year comparison.

Tatum averaged 13.9 ppg and 5 rpg in 30.5 minutes per game in his rookie year. So not 36 minutes per game like Beasley states in the video. On .475 FG% and .434 3PT%.

In comparison, Beasley averaged 13.9 ppg and 5.4 rpg in 24.8 minutes per game in his rookie year. On .472 FG% and .407 3PT%.

I'm just nitpicking here, of course.

But I don't see him both taking responsibility for his off-the-court antics / mistakes or stating that he understands how that DOES impact opportunities in the NBA. Like it would with most workplaces, no matter the profession.

Also, didn't he get in trouble during his rookie year before the season started during the Rookie Transition Program or something? I didn't see Tatum getting into controversy that early on during his first year in the NBA.

Not trying to invalidate his frustration and pain because those are real. However, I just hear him continuing to play the victim about how his NBA career panned out.

[og15]

Well he wasn't entirely accurate with the Jayson Tatum rookie year comparison.

Tatum averaged 13.9 ppg and 5 rpg in 30.5 minutes per game in his rookie year. So not 36 minutes per game like Beasley states in the video. On .475 FG% and .434 3PT%.

In comparison, Beasley averaged 13.9 ppg and 5.4 rpg in 24.8 minutes per game in his rookie year. On .472 FG% and .407 3PT%.

I'm just nitpicking here, of course.

But I don't see him both taking responsibility for his off-the-court antics / mistakes or stating that he understands how that DOES impact opportunities in the NBA. Like it would with most workplaces, no matter the profession.

Also, didn't he get in trouble during his rookie year before the season started during the Rookie Transition Program or something? I didn't see Tatum getting into controversy that early on during his first year in the NBA.

Not trying to invalidate his frustration and pain because those are real. However, I just hear him continuing to play the victim about how his NBA career panned out.

....or ever either.

[NO-KG-AI]

All the guys that claim it’s politics or blackballing are always inefficient isolation volume shot takers who offer nothing else of value.

Has there ever been a 3 and D, high motor, smart team defender that got blackballed? Wonder why.

[Clav]

Solid scorer, and at a college level he was quite good. I was pretty impressed with his repertoire at KState because he was generally just better than players on the floor. Good handle and shooting. In college you can play defense with a C backline standing in the paint and wings just don't worry as much. NBA didn't blackball him, Beas' didn't play great defense and if you're off your rookie contract, you gotta make yourself a commodity in the NBA. I honestly thought he'd get a few more looks, but nope.. He still earned a lot, he should be thankful for that chance that other players don't even get.

[dk1115]

Beasley was always a very inefficient player that didn't bring much other than scoring. He was lucky that he played 10 years in the league.

[canada_dry]

Your mental state is what blackballed you.

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[jokeboy86]

Giving every pro or ex pro athlete a platform to speak is going to be the bane of existence.

[jokeboy86]

All the guys that claim it’s politics or blackballing are always inefficient isolation volume shot takers who offer nothing else of value.

Has there ever been a 3 and D, high motor, smart team defender that got blackballed? Wonder why.

Exactly. This is the reason Jabari Parker isn't in the league though if you hear him tell it he doesn't want to be in the NBA anymore.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Rare offensive talent but wasn't savvy enough to make the most of it. Really bad defensive awareness. Clear negative overall which is what "blackballed him" from the league

[MrBigShot]

Of course I agree.

If guys like Jaylen Brown and Kyrie were less talented than they are, they'd also be out of the league. Especially Kyrie. The NBA doesn't like outspoken Black men. Especially if you buck the trend. You have to be politically correct, family man, say all the right things and be in line with the right party. This goes back to the Allen Iverson days.

As I type this message, the movie Kyrie tweeted is still up on Amazon (who is partnered with the NBA) for anyone to rent or buy. The way that people tried to destroy Kyrie's career and emasculate him is one of the most absurd things i've seen since following the NBA.

Anyway, on the topic of Beasley...the guy was a net negative low efficiency volume scorer who loved to take long 2s. He didn't bring much to the table from a vet locker room standpoint either. That's why he washed out. Beasley got plenty of opportunities, his 3rd year he was the #1 option in Minny and averaged 19ppg on 17 shots (KLove put up 20/15 on 14 shots a game that year)