Despite winning five titles in a span of 16 years, the San Antonio Spurs have never repeated. And as any NBA spectator can tell you, team chemistry, focus, grit and a little bit of luck are all required for an NBA champion to repeat the following year, let alone accomplish the rarely seen three-peat. But according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs are throwing caution to the wind.
That’s right folks, your defending NBA champions — who blew the Miami Heat and the rest of us away in the 2014 NBA Finals with their incredible ball movement and team play — are reportedly working out free agent Michael Beasley. Beasley, the former No. 2 pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, hasn’t panned out, but the Spurs might be willing to take the plunge that has drowned so many other teams already.
In his best season, Beasley averaged 19.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with the Minnesota Timberwolves. But other than that one decent year, Beasley’s been a major headache on each stop of his NBA tour. Frequent off-the-court issues have been a constant source of distraction for Beasley’s teams and he’s been busted for marijuana possession far too many times to feel comfortable about what he might be able to contribute.
I feel like Popovich was sitting around with his buddies drinking, full of hubris and was like "watch me win a title with Michael Beasley"
— Scott Howard (@ScottHoward42) September 17, 2014
Beasley’s bleezies aren’t the only issue, however, since he’s never been able to deliver on his potential. A decent scorer, Beasley can quickly become a black hole on offense and he puts zero effort in on the defensive end. It goes beyond the stats as well, since taking a simple look at his track record since entering the league shows his negative intangibles just bring his teams down.
In his first two seasons in the league with the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade and company failed to advance out of the first round of the playoffs. Getting rid of Beasley was a huge gift for Miami as well, since it cleared the space necessary to add LeBron James and Chris Bosh that summer. With the Minnesota Timberwolves, Beasley admittedly put up good numbers in his first season, but it was for a 15-win team. Beasley’s numbers and minutes dipped the following season, and Minnesota won two more games than they did the season before.
We’re not done yet, though. Beasley’s next ill-fated stop was with the Phoenix Suns, where his numbers continued to drop. To make matters worse, Beasley was arrested for marijuana possession after his only season in Phoenix, which prompted the Suns to waive him. Last season with the Heat, which should have been Beasley’s redemption season, he had a minimal impact off the bench for a championship-caliber team…that ended up falling short of a three-peat because Miami couldn’t match San Antonio’s depth.
In other words, why the hell are teams still convinced they can fix Michael Beasley? He’s like that bad boy that girls think they can change without realizing they’re being played the whole time. Beasley’s not a bad person by any means; he’s cooperative with the media, he’s supportive of his teammates on the court and the natural talent is clearly there.
But there’s something to be said for effort and Beasley isn’t always engaged. His off-the-court issues suggest he’s not fully invested in being the best player he can be and helping teams win championships. And now, for about the third time in his career, we’re forced to say: “If Michael Beasley doesn’t work out in , it’s time for teams to stop trying.”
The San Antonio Spurs represent the ultimate final straw for Michael Beasley’s career and this “Breaking Beasley” game. The Heat had a championship culture, but nobody’s been a consistent winner like San Antonio over the past two decades. Assuming the Spurs use their final open roster spot on Beasley, he’ll need to have an impact coming off the bench. To be fair, Gregg Popovich was able to get something out of a similar head case in Stephen Jackson. But if Beasley’s unable to learn from all-time great winners like Tim Duncan, Pop, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, he truly is a lost cause.
Michael Beasley’s freshman year: 26.2 PPG, 12.4 RPG, .610 TS%
— devin kharpertian (@uuords) September 17, 2014
Tim Duncan’s freshman year: 9.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, .593 TS%
/keg stand
Out of any team in the NBA, the Spurs can afford to take this kind of risk the most. They’re coming off one of the most dominant Finals performances in NBA history and they’re bringing everybody back along with a promising young rookie in Kyle Anderson.
That being said though, why even take a risk at all? If the Spurs are so hell-bent on repeating and will be bringing back the whole gang for another go-round, is it worth bringing a potential cancer like Michael Beasley onboard? This is like the curse of Tracy McGrady in the 2013 NBA Finals all over again, except T-Mac actually had supporters who thought he deserved to win a title after his impressive career.
No offense Mr. Beasley, but the San Antonio Spurs would probably be much better off bringing back Aron Baynes with that final roster spot.