Michael Beasley worked out for several teams this offseason including the Los Angeles Lakers and the defending champions San Antonio Spurs. While Beasley has been a journey man in his six years with the NBA, jumping from one team to the next, the former No.2 overall pick of the draft remains an intriguing prospect around the league - even the Spurs couldn't resist taking a look at him this offseason. In the end, The 25 year old forward decided to join the Memphis Grizzlies on a non-guaranteed contract according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Free-agent forward Michael Beasley has agreed to join the Memphis Grizzlies in training camp on a non-guaranteed contract, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Beasley spent several days working out for the Grizzlies this week and chose that offer because of an opportunity to make the roster as a backup power forward.
Beasley worked out for the Lakers twice but no deal was made. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders believes that Beasley was looking for an opportunity to become part of a team's rotation and the Lakers weren't just a viable option for him. With the Grizzlies promise of a back up forward spot, it was the kind of deal that Beasley was just looking.
Beasley is a versatile scorer and could prove as a nice back up for Zack Randolph in a Grizzlies team known for their defense but not their offense. There are stretches in a game where the Grizzlies couldn't buy themselves a bucket and Beasley's naturally gifted scoring abilities could be a valuable addition to the team. Beasley is not a good defender but Marc Gasol and the rest of the team could negate all of that.
Beasley has all the talent in the world and its the reason why a lot of teams continue to give him a shot. Now he has another opportunity to show that he belongs in the NBA as a back up power-forward in the Memphis. If this is the year the Beasley would make a big leap in the NBA, then the Grizzlies may just be the luckiest team in the league.
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