Heat forward Michael Beasley makes regular season roster

When former #2 overall pick Michael Beasley arrived in Miami to suit up for training camp with the Miami Heat, there was considerable fanfare. However, there was no guarantee that Beasley would make the team (as evidenced by his non-guaranteed invite), and it was considered to be a no-risk, high-reward flyer by the organization. As of Saturday, though, the Heat appear to have given Beasley the stamp of approval… for now.

Miami waived both Justin Hamilton and Eric Griffin, taking their roster down to the league maximum of 15 players, and thus, grabbing Beasley for the regular season roster. On the surface, that’s not a huge “win” for a former high lottery pick, but the lefty scorer looked be basically out of options, no matter how talented he may be.

It’s important to note that Beasley still has a non-guaranteed contract all the way through January 10th (along with countless other players across the league), as that is the deadline for teams to make any deal “guaranteed” for the rest of the year. If he shows anything at all, it would be a shock to see Miami jettison Beasley before that date, but crazier things have happened, especially with regard to his off-court antics.

This is the perfect situation for Beasley in a no-pressure environment (a la Greg Oden), and it seems that things are working in Miami, at least in the short term.