Michael Beasley's Resurrection A Boon For Milwaukee Bucks

Michael Beasley, the former second overall pick, has finally found his niche and himself with a home in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.

When the name Michael Beasley comes up in basketball circles, a lot of words will be thrown around. Most of which being unpleasant … selfish, showboat, chucker, thug, bust, druggie.

Beasley has done his fair share to warrant those titles, but the 2016 Michael Beasley is very different than the one most remember.

Let’s go all the way back to the 2008; the year Kansas State star Michael Beasley had the world at his fingertips.

After averaging more than 26 points per game and being named Big 12 Player of the Year, Beasley was on track to be a bonafide NBA superstar.

All things seemed to be going as planned, he was taken second overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat. Like all first-round picks, Beasley was going to be a millionaire.

He signed a rookie contract worth almost $10 million, complete with the promise of turning around a Heat team that won only 15 games in 2007-08.

Playing alongside veterans like Jermaine O’Neal, Shawn Marion and Dwyane Wade, Beasley’s rookie season was a resounding success. The 2008-09 Miami Heat improved their record to 43-39 and made the playoffs.

In fact, they took Atlanta to a Game 7 in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs before falling 91-78.

The following year, Beasley increased his minutes and points per game while starting every one of the games he played in. On the court, Beasley was effective, making his high draft selection completely warranted.

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However, for all of his on-court positives, Beasley was involved in a number of off-the-court issues. Multiple instances came up relating Beasley to marijuana, including a picture he tweeted out that contained drug paraphernalia.

All of the events culminated in a 2009 rehab stay, although details were murky at best.

The historically buttoned up Miami Heat franchise chose to move on, trading him to Minnesota prior to the 2010 season.

What happened from 2010-15 in Beasley’s career was truly a sad sight. The former second overall pick bounced around from Minnesota to Phoenix then back to the LeBron James-led Heat.

His production slipped with each year that passed, complete with more off-the-court issues at every stop.

Beasley was signed by Memphis before the 2014-15 season, only to be waived two weeks later. For the first time in his career, he didn’t have an NBA home and was forced to go overseas.

Players who put up scoring numbers like Beasley don’t usually have to resort to playing in China. It was obviously his off the court issues and on court focus that teams wanted no part of.

After putting up gaudy stats in China, the Miami Heat brought him for a third time. Instead of the millions of dollars the Heat had once paid him, he was coming back on a 10-day contract worth $67,393.

He finished the season in Miami, but was then in the same exact situation after the year ended.

Back to China in 2015-16, back to the horrendous competition and gaudy stats.

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What happened next, is where things started to change for Michael Beasley.

The Resurrection Begins

Desperately in need of scoring, the Houston Rockets signed him mid-season. The now 27-year-old immediately made an impact, averaging 14.6 points a game in his first month.

Most impressively, in 2015-16 Beasley produced his highest career field goal percentage (52.2 percent).

When the season ended, it was still unsure where he would be for the 2016-17 season. What was certain was that he was turning a corner both in his life and in his career.

Wanting to show his dedication, Beasley voluntarily joined the Rockets’ Summer League team. According to an interview he did in July, he wanted to stay in shape and help out with the younger players.

That doesn’t sound like the Michael Beasley we all have come to know.

Other teams took notice of the new man Beasley was becoming, the Milwaukee Bucks actually traded for him. They sent former first=round pick Tyler Ennis to Houston on Sept. 22 in a straight-up one-for-one trade.

If Houston didn’t want him, they would have just released him. Bucks head coach Jason Kidd wanted him on his team, both as a veteran presence and as a scorer off the bench.

Fast forward to now, the Bucks are playing .500 basketball and would be a playoff team at this point.

Beasley has highlighted the Bucks’ bench, continuing his efficient shooting at a 51.3 percent clip. Of all the Bucks who have attempted more than 10 three-point shots, Beasley is first on the team, shooting a career-best 41.7 percent.

That has been his M.O the past two years, instant offense.

The fact that you can put Michael Beasley and efficient in the same sentence is mind blowing. Earlier in his career he would provide offense; but with a poor shot selection and needing a much higher volume.

Efficiency aside, basketball fans have always known Michael Beasley can score. It’s the other stuff that he’s struggled with.

The Resurrection Of Michael Beasley

By Casey Pazzalia | Dec 1, 2016

Michael Beasley, the former second overall pick, has finally found his niche and himself with a home in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.

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The Resurrection Begins