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Detroit Pistons
New York Knicks
Aug 23, 2025 6:03 PM EDT
On Friday, ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed that NBA free agent Malik Beasley was dropped from a federal gambling investigation. Doing so paves the way for teams like the New York Knicks to sign him in free agency.
The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy confirmed the Knicks’ interest in Beasley on Saturday, writing, “The Knicks touched base previously with Malik Beasley’s camp and are viewed as a potential option for the 3-point marksman, a league source says… The Knicks, however, only have a vet minimum to offer.”
Beasley is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, averaging 16.3 points while shooting 43% from the field and 41.6% from three on 9.3 attempts a game. His efforts helped the Detroit Pistons make the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley
Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley (5) — Source: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
The Knicks Can’t Offer as Much as the Pistons can to Sign Malik Beasley
The investigation interfered with Beasley’s free agency, but now that the matter is behind him, the Knicks can try to sign him. However, SNY’s Ian Begley explained the problem with the Knicks’ pursuit of Beasley.
“I would assume Beasley garners strong interest from teams with more to offer than a veteran’s minimum,” Begley wrote. “Salary cap guru (Keith Smith) notes that (Detroit) can offer Beasley $7.2M. Some other teams still have some or all of the tax-payer MLE. Beasley had a 3-yr, $42M deal lined up with (Detroit) before reports of federal investigation emerged. Beasley hasn’t been arrested or charged with anything to date.”
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The Knicks have already addressed some of their bench issues this offseason, as they signed Jordan Clarkson after the Utah Jazz waived him. However, Clarkson is known more as a scorer than a shooter like Beasley.
To put it more delicately, Clarkson is a player who is hard to stop when he has the ball in his hands and his shots are going in, but he’s inconsistent, which is why he’s at his best playing in the second unit. Beasley is consistently a deep threat who can hit a barrage of threes, which is why he was such a valued cog to the Pistons last season.
That’s why the Pistons will be more than happy to sign him to that contract, where he’ll simply have to prove that this past season wasn’t a fluke before giving him a raise. Things didn’t go Beasley’s way this offseason, but he can still make a decent amount of money if he wants, and that might not be with the Knicks.
About the Author
Matt John
Trending News Writer, Athlon Sports
Matt John is a contributing writer for the Athlon Sports trending and breaking news team.