Since returning from his first stint in the Chinese Basketball Association with Shanghai in 2014, Michael Beasley’s career has taken a wild turn of events. He was a pure scorer coming out of the draft in 2008, posting an average of 13.9 points his rookie season and 19.2 points two seasons later.
After then heading overseas and dominating there, he would return to the NBA in 2014 and join LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Next, a second trip to China followed by Houston Rockets, and afterwards, the Milwaukee Bucks. None of the those stints went as well as his first few when he entered the league.
Beasley had the option to head back to China and become a top scorer in the league again this season, but chose to sign with another NBA team: The New York Knicks. Now off with his sixth franchise, Beasley believes he can once again become the dominant scorer he was coming out of college:
“I’ll bring what they saw in college,’’ Beasley said to the The New York Post in a phone interview. “I just need the opportunity to show that. Look at my nine-year career, I’ve always been close to a point a minute. I’ve always been a walking bucket. Nobody can stop me, hasn’t stopped me my last nine years. Every time I’ve touched the ball, the defender’s scared. I’m at the point of my career I’m just tired of not getting the acknowledgement of being who I am.
“I’ve always been the quiet, not-stand-up-for-myself-kind-of-guy. Not being disrespectful. But I want my respect. For the last nine years, I’ve been a walking bucket, man. Anytime you want a point, I’ll give you a point, no matter what the circumstances, who the player is defending me.’’
Beasley is a career 12.6 points per game scorer on 46 percent shooting from the field 35 percent shooting from 3-point range. The Knicks will likely trade Carmelo Anthony in the coming months, which would open up a larger role offensively for Beasley.
