Michael Beasley Trade Rumors Tracker: Latest Updates for Timberwolves Forward

With the NBA's March 15 trade deadline quickly approaching, one of the hottest topics of conversation has been Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley. With good, young forwards like Kevin Love, Derrick Williams and Wes Johnson already in the fold, Beasley looks to be the odd man out.

Beasley is second on the team in scoring with nearly 13 points per game, but he has started only seven contests. Also, his production is way down from last season when he poured in over 19 points per game as a strong scoring complement to Love.

The T'Wolves seem desperate to unload Beasley in order to free up playing time for Williams especially. Not surprisingly, the main team thought to be involved in talks for Beasley has been the Los Angeles Lakers, as they are looking for a wing scorer to help Kobe Bryant.

Continue to check back here until and throughout the 3 p.m. EST deadline on March 15 for all the news regarding Beasley's trade status.

Update: Thursday, March 15 at 3:25 p.m. EDT by Alex Kay

Minnesota Timberwolve fans that love Michael Beasley can breathe easy, the small forward isn’t going anywhere.

Fox Sports Ohio’s Sam Amico confirmed that, despite the sheer amount of trade rumors up until the deadline, B-EZ is going to remain on the Minnesota roster at least until the end of the season.

The T-Wolves need all the help they can get after Ricky Rubio’s devastating season-ending injury and likely decided to leave their roster the way it was in order to preserve chemistry and familiarity. 

Update: Thursday, March 15 at 2:18 p.m. EDT by Alex Kay

The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly traded for Ramon Sessions to address their point guard issue and aren’t done making moves yet.

They have less than an hour to get something done with the Minnesota Timberwolves to land Michael Beasley and are hoping to do just that, according to Fox Sports Ohio’s Sam Amico.

It’s clear the Lakers know they need to overhaul their roster in order to make another championship push in 2012 and GM Mitch Kupchak is active in his pursuit of that goal.

Keep it tuned here to see if Minny and LA work something out to land Beasley in the purple and gold.

Update: Thursday, March 15 at 1:05 p.m. EDT by Alex Kay

For anyone who was hoping that Michael Beasley was heading to Los Angeles to help revitalize the Lakers season, it’s now time to be concerned.

J. Michael Falgoust, NBA writer for USA Today, is reporting that B-EZ is practicing with the Minnesota Timberwolves in Salt Lake City.

Most players who are going to be imminently traded do not travel with the team or go through drills prior to that night’s game.

The Lakers might still swing a last minute deal for the talented but troubled small forward, but it looks like the momentum has died for now.  

Update: Thursday, March 15 at 9:50 a.m. EDT by Alex Kay

The trade talk between the Lakers and Timberwolves is heating up as the deadline draws nearer. 

As reported yesterday (scroll down for update), the two sides were discussing a three-way trade with the Portland Trail Blazers involving a number of players, which was highlighted by Michael Beasley heading to LA.

Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles has specifics. 

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Several variations of the trade have been discussed. One would land Beasley on the Lakers in a three-team deal that would send Portland Trail Blazers guard Jamal Crawford to the Wolves and Luke Ridnour from Minnesota to Portland. Los Angeles would give up one of its two 2012 first-round draft picks in the deal and use its $8.9 million trade exception, acquired when it traded Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks in December, to absorb Beasley's approximate $6.3 million salary. Portland would also receive the Lakers' first-round pick.

The Oregonian earlier reported another version of the deal without Ridnour and including Lakers guard Steve Blake, who played three seasons for the Blazers from 2007 to 2010 and who still keeps his offseason home in Oregon.

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McMenamin's source said the sides have momentum, so stay tuned here throughout the day to see if something happens. 

UPDATE: Wednesday, March 14 at 3:15 p.m. EST

The Lakers may be close to landing a new small forward. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported on Wednesday:

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Portland's talks with Minnesota for Jamal Crawford are part of a 3-way scenario with Lakers, source says. Michael Beasley would go to LA.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) March 14, 2012"

The Lakers have seen dismal play from small forwards Metta World Peace and Matt Barnes this season. Beasley would give them a true scoring threat from the wing.

UPDATE: Friday, March 9 at 1:09 p.m. EST

According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, odds are good that Beasley will have a new home after the Trade Deadline. 

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It's no secret that Minnesota is likely to trade Michael Beasley, with the most interested potential suitors being the Boston, the Lakers and Orlando.

"

Those teams all make sense. Los Angeles and Boston need to get younger, while the Magic need to show Dwight Howard that they're looking to build a winner.

UPDATE: Friday, March 9 at 12:59 p.m. EST

Ken Berger of CBS Sports is reporting that the Magic are viewing Beasley as a possible candidate, hoping that the addition of him would be enough to attract a couple of bigger names.

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The Magic are pursuing multiple avenues in an attempt to improve the team in the hopes that a long playoff run could persuade Howard to stay. If Orlando holds off on trading Howard at the deadline, sources say Beasley could be a viable piece for the Nets to add as they try to upgrade their talent to make the team more attractive to Howard and Deron Williams.

"

UPDATE: Wednesday, March 7 at 6:33 a.m. EST

While Michael Beasley to the Lakers rumors have been and will continue to fly around leading up to the trade deadline, another California team seems uninterested.

According to Rusty Simmons of SFGate.com, " The Warriors don't think dealing for Michael Beasley would change their team."

While the Warriors and Beasley have had trade rumors swirling about them, it doesn't appear as though Golden State is a logical landing place for him.

UPDATE: Thursday, March 1 at 7:35 a.m. EST by Mike Chiari

The Los Angeles Lakers have long been considered one of the freest-spending teams in basketball, particularly with Jerry Buss at the helm, but apparently that is no longer the case.

According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the Timberwolves offered Michael Beasley to the Lakers for a mere first-round pick, but Los Angeles rejected the trade for luxury tax reasons. L.A.'s payroll is already $18 million over the luxury tax threshold of $70 million.

Because of that, the Lakers have to pay $18 million in taxes this season, and a trade for Beasley without sending salary back would have resulted in the payment of an additional $6.2 million. With that in mind, the Lakers seem as if they are only willing to take on salary if they can ship some out as well.

The deal itself, with money being no object, would have been considered a win for the Lakers since the goal is for their first-rounder to be late anyway. According to Broussard's report, had the Lakers' vetoed trade for Chris Paul gone through prior to the season, they would have dealt for Beasley as well since they would have been in a much better situation with regards to the luxury tax number.

A Beasley-to-Lakers deal is still possible with a couple weeks until the deadline, but it looks like the Lakers may need to find a way to ship away Metta World Peace or Luke Walton in the trade or a separate trade in order to alleviate some of the financial burden.