After he was no longer the focus of a gambling investigation, Malik Beasley’s lawyers confirmed that he had gotten the green signal to resume looking for a home in the NBA free agency.
Right after this news broke, the Knicks were one of the first names to be mentioned alongside his former team, the Pistons, as a potential landing spot for Malik Beasley. Subsequently, the Cavaliers have also reportedly entered the race.
According to Mike A. Scotto, the NBA Insider with HoopsHype, the Cavaliers inquired about the former Lakers guard, who is shooting 39.1% from beyond the three-point line for his career.
“The Knicks and Cavaliers have checked in on Malik Beasley, sources told @hoopshype. Knicks executive Gersson Rosas signed Beasley to a four-year, $60M deal with the Timberwolves. The Knicks and Cavs have minimum deals to offer. Beasley is no longer a target of a federal investigation,” wrote Scotto in a post on X.
Beasley has shot over 40% from the three-point line for the past two seasons. With his 319 three-point shots made last season, he broke the Pistons’ franchise record for most threes made in a single season. Therefore, it is likely that the Pistons will push the hardest to bring Beasley back to Detroit.
Meanwhile, the financial restrictions imply that the Knicks and the Cavaliers can only offer him a veteran minimum deal. The 28-year-old guard will likely seek more money eventually, but will have to take a pay cut if he wishes for a change of atmosphere and moves on from the Pistons.
The Pistons signed him on a one-year, $6 million deal last summer. Earlier, before he was involved in the investigations, the Pistons were reportedly ready to use their $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception on him and offer him a three-year, $42 million deal.
But since his involvement in the investigation, they seemingly pivoted to Caris LeVert and used that exception on him. Therefore, they can now offer him a 20% raise from their first contract, a maximum of $7.2 million per year in a deal.
This is still far greater than a veteran minimum deal that the Knicks and Cavaliers can reportedly offer, which will be approximately $3.6 million for his experience level. Beasley is a solid investment for either of these teams as he averaged 16.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists last season and played all 82 games in the regular season.
A consistent threat from deep and not injury-prone like several other players, Beasley may want to compete for a championship and leave the Pistons for that. But if he values playing time more, then the best-suited team for him is the Pistons.
He will have to compete with elite players like Josh Hart, Donovan Mitchell, and a sharpshooter like Max Strus if he decides to join either the Knicks or the Cavaliers.
