Michael Beasley is Now 'The Man' As a Minnesota Timberwolf

When Miami traded Michael Beasley for a second round pick on July 10, 2010 I couldn’t help but laugh at it. No, not because I didn’t like Beasley, but at the fact that Miami traded the player who at one point was thought to be the “savior” of an ailing franchise.

Back when the Heat was 15-67 Miami fans couldn’t wait for the draft to come around so we could pick our new savior, the one who with Wade, would bring the Heat out of the ashes and make the Heat a relevant team once again. Well, that didn’t happen. The only reason Miami was relevant again was because of the rebirth of Dwyane Wade.

 Let me be perfectly clear with you, I was never sold on Michael Beasley. Yes, he was a terrific college player, but some players are just that, terrific college players. When he came out of Kansas State after only one year I was a little hesitant at the fact that Miami was going to draft this kid.

Because let’s face it, a 19-year-old kid isn’t exactly what Miami needed. There has only been a handful of players that come in to the NBA in their teens and make a difference and I wasn’t sold Beasley was going to be one of them.

The irony of the story is our second round pick, Mario Chalmers, played all 82 games that season and Beasley was a benchwarmer who came in with the second team. As I said before, he put up pretty bad numbers for a second overall draft pick with 13 points and 5 rebounds after he averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds as a Kansas State Wildcat.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt and was looking forward to his second season in the Heat uniform. I was so pumped for it that I decided to buy his jersey (anyone want to buy it off me?). Heat great Udonis Haslem had been the starting power forward for the Miami Heat for as long as I can remember, but in the 2009 season, Haslem gave way for Beasley to start in his place.

He started 78 games in his second season, and his averages were a little better, Beasley averaged 14 points and 6 rebounds per game; an astonishing one point increase from his rookie season.

Beasley was never a good fit in Miami. Pat Riley finally realized that on July 10, 2010 when the Miami Heat signed LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and re-signed Dwyane Wade. Beasley was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 2011 and 2014 second-round draft picks.

One of the main reasons Beasley was never going to be a good fit in Miami is the fact that he is pretty bad in the defensive end. He never ran back to defense, he looked lost in most of the defensive rotations when he was on the court and that caused him to lose focus in the offence as well. Beasley was a double-double machine in college but in the NBA not so much.

I expect nothing but success for Michael in the future as he takes his talents to Minnesota. He still has the potential of being a great player but that was never going to have happened in Miami where he would have rotted on the bench behind LeBron, Bosh and Haslem.

Timberwolf Beasley is already showing flashes of what an amazing player he can be with an average of 21 points per game and 5 rebounds. He had a game of 42 points (career high) and 9 rebounds, something he never had here in Miami. So here’s to you Michael Beasley. Prove me wrong, become the best player in the NBA with the Timberwolves and show Heat fans, like myself, that we are wrong for writing you off.