Michael Beasley speaks as a member of the Heat
By Ryan Donoho
When Michael Beasley was waived by the Suns last month, he had no teams calling. Finally the team that drafted him, The Miami Heat, gave him a training camp offer. Whether he will make the team or not is yet to be seen, but he will have to shelve the off-court problems if he wants to have a real chance. At Miami’s media day, Beasley finally spoke about what’s next for him, and all things Heat:
"“I didn’t watch,” he claimed.Don’t believe it. Of course the forward who was traded by Miami to Minnesota in a 2010 salary dump was looking on as the Heat fell in the Finals in 2011 but then won championships the two seasons after that.“You know I did,” Beasley said. “I can’t lie. You get hungry. Especially when you see your old team do it three times in a row, get there three times all three years you weren’t there. You get hungry. You get mad.”"
It’s good to see him talk about wanting to win, but he’s said the right things before. Is he thinking about off-season problems or whether he will make the team?
"Beasley, who has had a number of off-court problems in his six-year career, is on a short leash. Because he didn’t get any guaranteed money, the Heat can release him at any time without penalty if has another misstep.“I guess if you want to look at it that way,” Beasley said. “I’m not looking at it that way. I’m just here to play basketball. I’m not going to be looking at not making mistakes or trying not to mess up. Just trying to do things the right way consistently and let everything fall into place.”"
Who knows whether he will make the team or not, but for him this is a last chance. He has to prove a lot if he wants to make an impact, and the Heat can cut him with no penalty.