After a relatively quiet summer that saw them add some solid veteran wing pick-ups, the Detroit Pistons have been pegged to land one of the top remaining free agents at this point in the process.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report posits that, though he may still have other suitors, free agent swingman Malik Beasley will stay in Detroit. He had been one of the most coveted free agents who'd be hitting the market this summer - until an off-court investigation derailed all that.
"Beasley may have a few suitors at the minimum, but Detroit makes too much sense, as the team isn't near the luxury-tax threshold, has a roster spot and can pay him up to $7.2 million," Pincus writes.
As David Purdum of ESPN asserts, Beasley is still being investigated by the league, even after his attorney Steve Haney claimed that Beasley was not being targeted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York in its investigation of an elaborate gambling plot.
Prior to word leaking about Beasley potentially being looked into by the Eastern District of New York just a few days ahead of free agency, the Pistons had reportedly offered him a three-year, $42 million free agent deal.
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The 6-foot-4 Florida State product, 28, enjoyed a terrific inaugural season with Detroit. Beasley played 82 games for the 44-38 Pistons, averaging 16.3 points on .430/.416/.679 shooting splits, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals a night. He finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting behind Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard.
Beasley's attorney, Steve Haney, recently spoke on Beasley's status amid the ongoing investigation, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.
"They're conducting an internal investigation, more of a misconduct investigation to make a determination if there are any rules that were violated through the collective bargaining agreement," Haney said. "That investigation is currently ongoing, and we're cooperating, providing whatever information we can to hopefully get Malik clear so he can resume his free agency."
The league can be pretty punitive regarding gambling infractions. Two-way former Toronto Raptors big man Jontay Porter was permanently banned from the NBA after it was found that he was involved in some illicit betting on his own performances just last season.
"Certainly, with this news of the investigation, which is not anything that we were responsible for, this leak, essentially, from the Eastern District of New York definitely caused him to lose some opportunity in free agency, and hopefully there's still a pathway that he can still get back on track for next season," Haney added.
"I do know that Malik Beasley, if there's a pathway, would like to look at being considered to play for Detroit again next season," Haney said. "I'm not his agent, though, so I don't know if there's still interest there, I don't know if there's still money there, what the mutual level of interest there is in him returning to Detroit. I know that he's got a lot of love for Detroit and would like to, if possible, look at maybe coming back."
Beasley himself weighed in on his complicated summer recently via his official Instagram account, hinting that he might land on a destination sooner rather than later, with training camps set to open in a few weeks and the preseason tipping off on Thursday, Oct. 2.
"Step into my world. where we dont listen to the outside noise 💯 where we don't quit.. where we live to the fullest," Beasley wrote. "Year 10 is approaching.. probably the most interesting one of them all.. and the goal remains the same .. be better than last year."
Beasley concluded with a tantalizing tease of "my decision is near 👀."
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