Detroit honoring Malik Beasley's anti-trade request paid off quickly for Pistons

It's been a minute since a veteran player on an expiring contract with plenty of suitors ahead of the trade deadline pleaded to remain with the Detroit Pistons. That's exactly what sharpshooter Malik Beasley did, though. A couple of weeks before the NBA trade deadline, Beasley approached Detroit Pistons general manager Trajan Langdon, asking not to be traded. Instead, Detroit added a veteran backup guard to help continue their surprising playoff push.

Beasley, 28, is one of many offseason roster upgrades the Pistons made under the first-year GM Langdon. His primary focus was replacing "lane cloggers" with floor-spacers who have the ability to shoot the three to create much-needed space for their star, Cade Cunningham.

Detroit brought in a slew of veterans, including Beasley, Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. The veteran trio deserves much credit for helping the Pistons achieve their quick turnaround. The Pistons currently have a record of 26-26, a significant improvement from last season, when they won just 14 games.

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Malik Beasley quickly rewards his general manager for not trading him at the NBA deadline

The Detroit Pistons cut through the Philadelphia 76ers like a hot knife through butter 125-112 on Friday night despite playing without Cade Cunningham, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle.

With Cunningham out, Beasley went off for 36 points, going 13 for 23 from the field and nine for 19 from beyond the three-point arc. If you were wondering, Cunningham landed funny late in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night in Detroit's last-second loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. After rolling his ankle, Cunningham refused to come out of the game and finished his night with 38 points, nine assists and seven boards in the losing effort.

“He came to me a couple of weeks ago and said ‘Please don’t trade me; I want to be here,” Langdon told reporters after the team’s shootaround Friday morning. “Which means a lot. In the summer when we talked about players we were going after and players we wanted to roster, we wanted guys who want to be here. He’s a guy who has said from day 1, he wants to be in Detroit and has continued to echo that, and with his actions and play has shown that."

“We’re excited that he’s here, we’re excited that he still wants to be here, and he’s done a tremendous job when I talk about the positivity and being team first and competing between the lines; he’s done that so far this season. He’s set a great example for our young guys.” 

Another thing working in Detroit's favor is they have aspirations of re-signing Beasley because he has ties to the city of Detroit. Beasley's mother is from the Metro Detroit area, and the veteran has relatives who remain in the area.

“To be able to talk to your GM is huge, to have that relationship,” Beasley said postgame. “I think he knew that I wanted to stay but he wasn’t sure, because a lot of players come in and still want to leave. But I told him from the jump I want to be here, I want to help build this organization up, I want to be a vet and do everything I can to score, and just get some wins. I’m happy to be here, I want to continue to stay here and let’s keep it going.” 

Beasley is currently second in the league with 200 three-pointers made on the season, 12 behind Anthony Edwards. He's hitting them at a 41.1 percent clip, 1 percent below Edwards. He's averaged 16.1 points, 2.9 boards and 1.8 assists per game.

This past offseason, he signed a one-year deal worth $6 million and is undoubtedly in line to see a significant raise this coming summer. I expect that number to double and some, possibly. It wouldn't be far-fetched to see a short-term deal that averages somewhere in the $15 million range annually, and if his hot shooting continues, he'll be worth it.