Detroit Pistons free agent guard Malik Beasley is no longer a target of the federal gambling investigation being conducted by the Eastern District of New York, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania reported on Friday that Beasley’s attorneys Steve Haney and Mike Schachter had extensive conversations and meetings with the district court and “received determination on Beasley not being considered the target.”
Beasley, 28, had reportedly been under investigation for allegations regarding gambling on NBA games and prop bets during the 2023-2024 season, before he joined the Pistons.
“Months after this investigation commenced, Malik remains uncharged and is not the target of this investigation,” Haney told ESPN. “An allegation with no charge, indictment or conviction should never have the catastrophic consequence this has caused Malik. This has literally been the opposite of the presumption of innocence.”
The emergence of the investigation in late June tanked what was expected to be a lucrative new contract for Beasley with the Pistons, set to be worth $42 million over three years.
Beasley played a key role in bringing Detroit back to the playoffs last season, averaging 16.3 points on 41.6% shooting from beyond the arc and amassing the second-most threes in the NBA. He finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
The Pistons were open about wanting to bring him back, but president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said that they had to make a sudden decision with the prospect that Beasley could be charged and his ability to contribute on the court up in the air.
“(There was) not much time. I was able to communicate with Malik and his agent on Saturday, which was obviously right before we could start talking to free agents on Sunday,” Langdon said in July. “It was obviously disappointing for us because we were excited to get him back. We had to pivot quickly...”
With the investigation seemingly behind Beasley, he can now look for a landing spot for next season.
In a series of Snapchat stories earlier this month, Beasley said that he’s been staying in shape and ready for when a team came calling and that included a possible return to Detroit, which he said he would be “really happy with that.”
“I gotta be prepared to either come back to the Pistons or there are some other teams interested as well,” Beasley said. “Waiting for some clarity on a lot of things.”
The big question will be if Beasley is chasing a contract amount closer to what he was expecting before this ordeal, or if he’d prefer to be with the Pistons, regardless.
According to NBA salary cap guru Keith Smith, the Pistons can only offer a contract starting at $7.2 million per year with Beasley’s Non-Bird rights. Bringing in free agents Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson ate up most of the money the Pistons were presumably planning to spend on Beasley.
That’s pretty much half of what Beasley was reportedly set to make annually.
Smith says there’s only one team with cap space that could offer more than the Pistons and that’s the Brooklyn Nets, who have $15 million in space. However, Smith indicated there are seven teams with non-taxpayer mid-level exceptions that would total more than that $7.2 million figure.
Among that group are the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.
That’s not ideal for the Pistons if they’re hoping that they can bring Beasley back on a bargain deal this late into free agency to fill their final roster spot.
However, there’s going to need to be mutual interest with Beasley and another team and he may want to sign another one-year “prove-it” deal in hopes of getting an even bigger contract if he can replicate last season’s success.
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