Lakers Rumors: Buzz on Michael Beasley's Free-Agent Options Before LA Signing
July 23, 2018
The Los Angeles Lakers are going to draw heavy focus in 2018 and beyond.
With the signing of forward LeBron James and with point guard Lonzo Ball on the roster, there's enough personality and star power on that team to take up more than enough mainstream media content.
And this is even before the Lakers add more pieces down the line.
The Lakers have already made the biggest splash of the offseason, but rumors will continue to surround this team for the foreseeable future—not to mention we'll also be keeping a closer eye on them with James in town.
With that said, a rumor surrounding newly signed forward Michael Beasley has come to light that we need to examine.
Michael Beasley Picked Lakers over Thunder
According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers have signed forward Michael Beasley to a one-year deal, which Chris Haynes of ESPN (h/t ABC 7) said is worth $3.5 million.
What makes this signing interesting is not only the career that surrounds the 29-year-old Beasley, but that he reportedly picked the Lakers over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This really speaks to the drawing power James has. If this same scenario arose last season, it's hard to envision Beasley picking the Lakers.
In some sense, it would be fair to say that the NBA world belongs to the Golden State Warriors and we're all just living in it. It's hard to imagine the Lakers taking them down, and the same goes for the Thunder, who are led by forward Paul George and point guard Russell Westbrook.
Perhaps the deal had something to do with Beasley and James being teammates during the 2013-2014 season when they were both with the Miami Heat.
We tend to see these kinds of deals happen in the offseason where players will go to what is perceived as a championship contending team for less money.
Of course, Beasley and center DeMarcus Cousins are not on the same level, but Cousins took peanuts compared to what he could get to go with the Warriors.
Could this be a sign of things to come in L.A.? Could we start seeing guys who can still contribute something positive to a roster signing there for less money at a chance to compete?
James has that kind of drawing power and appeal, so it makes sense.
It makes you wonder what the Thunder offered.
As far as his role with the team, you can expect a similar one for Beasley as he had with the New York Knicks. He'll primarily be a bench player but will still log a fair amount of minutes.
Beasley averaged right around 13 points and six rebounds per game in 2017 with just over 22 minutes played per night.
That's a solid baseline for his projected performance with the Lakers this upcoming season.