NBA: Role Players who could become stars elsewhere

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NBA role players who could become stars elsewhere: 3. Malik Beasley

It was only a matter of time until one of the many combo guards on the Minnesota Timberwolves was going to find themselves struggling. The duplicitous nature of the games provided by Anthony Edwards, Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell was always something of a complicated fit, and Beasley, dealing with plenty of other issues, has been the victim of circumstance this year. However, if he were to find himself in another situation that could quickly change.

Look no further than when Beasley was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the Timberwolves. While the sample size was small due to the pandemic cutting the season short, Beasley entered the situation in true star fashion. Over the 14 games before the season ended, Beasley averaged 20.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He continued his scoring prowess last season, averaging 19.6 points while Edwards figured out the pace of the league and Russell spent plenty of time on the sidelines.

Beasley could easily be a building block for the Philadelphia 76ers in some sort of trade package for Ben Simmons. It is not the starry name that Daryl Morey seems to require, but he would compliment the roster perfectly and could alleviate some of the pressure on the rest of the roster to pace the offense.