The Heat have a lot on their plate this summer. They need to resign point guard Goran Dragic, and are reportedly prepared to offer him a deal worth $80 million over 5 years. They also need to figure out the whole Dwyane Wade situation. One would expect Wade to remain with Miami since he’s always been there, but perhaps he’ll do what Paul Pierce did and see what free agency is like. Miami may be considering letting Wade walk, as evidenced by their interest in shooting guard Monta Ellis.
The least of the Heat’s worries is keeping around Michael Beasley, who was given what he considered to be his “last chance” with the Heat last season. Beasley certainly didn’t do anything to convince the Heat to keep him around last season. He averaged 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21 minutes per game, and shot a subpar 43.4% from the field and an abysmal 23.5% from long range.
The Heat have decided to cut ties with Beasley, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson.
Heat has told Michael Beasley that it will not pick up his $1.3 million option for next season.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) June 28, 2015
Beasley could’ve been worse last season, but wasn’t anything special. The real reason behind cutting Beasley is less about his performance and more about drafting small forward Justise Winslow with the tenth pick in the draft. The Heat already have Luol Deng on board as their veteran small forward, and now with Winslow as their 3 of the future, Beasley’s presence on the roster is unnecessary.
Since being regarded as a future NBA stud during his time at Kansas, Beasley has been disappointing and inconsistent, especially given the hype surrounding him. Of course, his off court problems have been more troublesome than his play on the court. Beasley’s one of those “what if” players. He had tremendous talent in college, but just never panned out in the pros, and didn’t possess the poise or maturity to play in the NBA. This was likely Beasley’s last chance in the NBA, but hey you never know. I thought he was done last time he left the league, but Miami has given him several chances(for whatever reason). Maybe he’ll find himself in a Heat uniform again at some point.
