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Miami Heat Bringing Back Michael Beasley Benefits Both Parties


Michael Beasley

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

When the Miami Heat selected Michael Beasley No. 2 in the NBA Draft, they knew what his downside was. He was immature and had a reputation for being lazy. The Heat also knew he had tremendous upside as a hybrid small forward/power forward.

He is a very streaky offensive player who can carry a team for stretches but also disappear for games at a time. He is an above average rebounder for a small forward, but he hasn’t shown the ability to cover most NBA small forwards. He can play the power forward position, especially in this postion-less Heat rotation. For a team that already has size issues and rebounding trouble, he will not add anything to fix those particular problems, but he also won’t make them any worse.

The best thing about this Beasley signing is that he is coming in with low expectations. Reportedly the contract is not guaranteed and he has no assurance of even making the roster. If he does make the roster, he will fill the role left by Mike Miller which wasn’t a very steady role. He will play when they need him and sit on the bench if they don’t. He will probably spend most of his time playing alongside Norris Cole, Greg Oden, James Jones and Joel Anthony in the Miami Heat’s garbage time lineup. He will also be used as a reserve when they rest LeBron James or Chris Bosh or if either of them get into early foul trouble.

The one thing this signing does is give Pat Riley a chance to right one of his biggest wrongs. He wasn’t really sold on Michael Beasley when the Heat selected second in 2008. He brought in O.J. Mayo, Brook Lopez and Kevin Love for workouts before finally deciding on the talented Beasley. If he can get a contribution from Beasley this year and get him a championship ring, the Michael Beasley wikipedia page will look a lot more like it was supposed to when he was coming out of college.



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