Former NBA reject Michael Beasley returns to the league, now gracing the Houston Rockets with his presence. Following his second season-long stint in China, this time playing for the Shandong Golden Stars, the rapid-scoring forward has now played six games this season after signing with Houston. With the Rockets arguably struggling to achieve any on-court chemistry – that forever enigmatic NBA intangible – J.B . Bickerstaff has tried to boost his squad with yet another “reject”.
First there was Ty Lawson, who was traded to the Rockets after a number of arrests during his time at Denver strained his relationship with the franchise. Lawson only averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 assists in 22.2 minutes during his time at Houston, after it was hoped that his playmaking abilities would reduce Harden’s exorbitant amount of time on the ball. After slowly being shunned out of the rotation, Lawson was ultimately traded to the Indiana Pacers earlier in March.
Then there was Josh Smith, who was curiously released from the Detroit Pistons and eventually landed himself at the LA Clippers only to return to the Rockets again. Smith has proven himself to be a good role-player, averaging 6.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.7 minutes this season, but still remains a shadow of the player who averaged 18.8 points during the ’10-’11 season with the Atlanta Hawks.
Now Bickerstaff and his staff have turned to Michael Beasley, who has once again returned to the NBA after a number of off-court issues led to him spending most of the ’15-’16 season in China with the Shandong Golden Stars. Beasley had an outstanding season in the Chinese basketball league, where he averaged 31.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals for the year. He was subsequently named the foreign MVP of the China Basketball Association for his performances and was also named MVP of the league’s all-star game in which he racked up 63 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists.
If we look back at the three-time Miami Heat player, Beasley was once upon a time involved in league-wide debates about whether or not he should be taken as the number 1 draft-pick for the class of ’08. Of course, former league MVP Derrick Rose was drafted by the Chicago Bulls instead and the debate has since hardly been revisited. Beasley once had an especially outstanding spell whilst operating as the Minnesota Timberwolves focal point during ’10-’11 season, whereby he averaged 19.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 32.3 minutes. However, a number of off-court issues stunted his development as an NBA player and never quite allowed him to reach his full potential.
At still only 27-years of age, Beasley is looking to reclaim his spot in the NBA as the league braces itself for his second return from the Chinese basketball league. In his third game for the Rockets, the former Timberwolves star recorded 18 points and 8 rebounds in just under 15 minutes. Since then, Beasley has not failed to score double-digits coming off the bench in his last 3 games following the win against the Boston Celtics. In his most recent game against the LA Clippers, Michael Beasley was the second player on the Rockets roster (after James Harden) to reach double-digit points. Beasley finished the game with 16 points and 8 rebounds at .583% shooting in 19 minutes on the court.
The former NBA “reject” is averaging 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and is playing with a 27.86 PER in 14.8 minutes for his last 6 games with the Rockets. On the whole, he is averaging 2 points and 0.1 rebounds under his career average and has displayed a remarkable growth in maturity levels, especially with his scoring efficiency. Beasley is recording higher scoring averages than during his previous ’13-’14 and ’14-’15 stints at Miami (7.9 and 8.8 ppg respectively) during less minutes (15.1 mpg during the ’13-’14 season and 21.0 mpg during the ’14-’15 season with Miami).
What is most remarkable about Beasley’s stats, however, is his Player Efficiency Rating (PER), which is arguably the best statistic for grading a player’s performance and contribution to a team. With a 27.86 PER, Beasley is ranked 9th in the league, although with only 6 games played he does not qualify for the official NBA rankings. But these numbers look promising – to say the least for a team who has struggled with staff changes, injuries and locker room drama for the majority of the season.
As we enter the final stretch-drive of the season, the Rockets are teetering on the edge of the playoff window and are now hoping that the signing of Michael Beasley from China will help propel them a few places up in the standings. The Rockets have tried on a few occasions recently to introduce other NBA rejects such as Ty Lawson and Josh Smith into their ranks, but neither have had the impact that could take the team to that next level and ultimately win them a championship. Michael Beasley has shown us glimpses that he is ready to grind it out once again in the NBA and the Rockets will certainly be hoping that the third time is the charm.
