No FOMO for OKC Thunder as ship sails on Michael Beasley

OKC Thunder escape bullet by avoiding free agent signing of Michael Beasley.

Amidst all the chaos of the free agency period, the OKC Thunder interest in Michael Beasley flew under the radar. Now that Beasley signed with LA, Sam Presti must feel a bit relieved he passed.

For as much trouble Michael Beasley has been during his career, it’s hard to believe he’s been able to stick around the league for 10 years. And although he’s been a streaky scorer with discipline issues, he earned himself a pay raise with a bounce-back year last season in New York.

Prior to last year, Beasley had trouble staying on the court for a full season due to off-court issues – namely, drug use. However, he managed to play over 70 games and average double digits scoring for the first time in five years. Sure, he may have done so with the dilapidated Knicks who were without Kristaps Porzingis, but it was a impressive feat nonetheless.

Although his numbers were inflated, Beasley did enough to gain some interest in free agency and ultimately signed a one-year deal with the Lakers for $3.5 million. In addition to the Lakers, OKC also showed interest.

Beasley wasn’t a great fit and far too risky:

Before believing the Thunder missed out on another scoring option, understand the risk Beasley would have been. There are several factors which would make Beasley a bad fit for the Thunder, but maybe none more so than his past. And it’s too bad because Beasley has always been a good player.

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Even at the earliest stages of his career, “B-Easy” has been a problem. It all started in high school when was kicked out of Oak Hill Academy for behavior issues. His poor decision making was fortunately sidelined during his time at Kansas State, but reared its ugly head in the NBA. Beasley has been suspended on several occasions for use of marijuana and was even caught up in a sexual assault case back in 2013.

Looking back, B-Easy is one of the biggest “what-if’s” in the NBA. Could he have walked the straight and narrow, we all might think much differently of him. Not only would he have more games under his belt, but teams may have been willing to give him a longer leash. And seeing as how he thrived in New York as one of the main scoring options, he might have been one of the best scorers in the league.

As it stands, Beasley is what he is, a 10-year veteran on the back end of his career. He wasn’t a bad sign for the Lakers at the low price. And if he manages to stay out of trouble and injury free, he should provide the occasional 20-point game. The same could be said if he was signed with the Thunder, but with the current state of the team, Presti did the right thing by not risking anything.

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After all of the turmoil last season, this upcoming year shouldn’t be wasted on internal issues which could arise with someone like B-Easy in the locker room. Not to say players don’t deserve second chances, but the gamble simply wasn’t worth it. Especially after landing Dennis Schroeder who should be the sixth man OKC has been waiting for.