The Cleveland Cavaliers have two open roster spots as they head into training camp in just over a month. Former Detroit Pistons swingman Malik Beasley is someone they’ve looked into adding to one of those open slots.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has reported that the New York Knicks and the Cavs have “checked in” on Beasley.
Beasley was a key contributor to the Pistons’ resurgence last season. The 28-year-old played in all 82 games and averaged 16.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game on .430/.416/.679 shooting splits.
The Pistons signed Beasley signed a one-year, $6 million contract last season. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Beasley was set to sign a three-year, $42 million deal with the Pistons this offseason before the news of the investigation broke on June 29, just a few days before free agency started. Even though he’s no longer a target of the investigation, the money that he was set to get from the Pistons is no longer available.
Along with a federal investigation into gambling, Beasley has been the subject of a handful of other recent lawsuits. One of which stems from being evicted from an apartment in Detroit owned by Cavs chairman Dan Gilbert’s real estate company — Bedrock Detroit — for failure to pay over $21,000 in rent. Overall, it’s reported that Beasley has over $8 million in either unpaid loans or bills.
The Cavs don’t have the financial ability to help him pay back his bills completely, but they could be a good landing spot for him to showcase his talents. Cleveland can only offer a minimum contract of $3.3 million due to being in the second apron. The same is true for the Knicks, who are just below the second apron themselves.
It’ll be interesting to see what other options are out there for Beasley. Given how late it is in the summer, he will likely be forced to sign a one-year deal for far below his market value and then hope to sign a bigger contract in free agency next summer.
The Cavs and Knicks are expected to be the two best teams in the Eastern Conference next season. Either would benefit greatly from picking up Beasley as a one-year rental.
