Can Michael Beasley turn around a once promising career in San Antonio?
On Wednesday The San Antonio Spurs watched Michael Beasley workout for the team, and possibly get a chance to compete in training camp for a roster spot on the team. Michael Beasley’s career has certainly been lack luster to say the least, but if he can latch on with the defending champions this could be the move that Beasley needs to get things back on track for the 6 year veteran. The former Kansas State Small Forward has not only been a disappointment since being selected number two overall, but he could be putting himself into position of a journeyman. Greg Popovich has proven that he can manage personalities and not that he’s had to deal with a lot of divas on his roster in his tenure, because Popovich just doesn’t stand for that kind of distraction but he’s not afraid to roll the dice if it will help the team out in the long run.
Stephen Jackson was a player whom respected Popovich, and turned out to work out in The Spurs favor in their 2003 championship run. Jackson at times did have sloppy play, but he still had a positive effect on the team. Eventually Jackson did move on and his second stint with the team did not work and he has not been in the league since. Beasley may not be the same player Stephen Jackson is at least when it comes to wearing his heart on his sleeve like Jackson, but from a scoring stand point I think Beasley can come off the bench for San Antonio and produce. We all know Michael Beasley can score, and that’s mainly why he’s still getting a look see from The Spurs and I’m sure they won’t be the only team looking his way as training camp approaches.
In his 6 year career he’s averaged 13 PPG on 45% from the floor, but Beasley’s problem since coming into the league is all of the off the court issues he’s had and just lack of focus to help himself get another contract with Miami. Besides his lack of focus one thing that didn’t help his case either in Miami was the lack of defense Beasley played as well.
Michael Beasley can set himself up nicely if this all does workout and he does land a roster spot with the team. It certainly gives a veteran like Manu Ginobli some rest and saves Danny Green or Kawhi Leonard from playing meaningless minutes at the end of games too. Beasley may be able to find himself a landing spot on this roster for some time (a year or two at best), but now is the time for Beasley to get focused. With this workout I see it being a long shot that Beasley is going to The Spurs, or this experiment even working. My question is which coach in The NBA though would be able to make this experiment work or get a positive impact out of this, and I can’t think of anyone more suited for the job than Greg Popovich.
