The Los Angeles Lakers signed some vets this offseason that some feel won’t be a good fit on this team. But Michael Beasley has the potential to be a valuable piece of their rotation.
Los Angeles Lakers Nation, training camp is slowly but surely approaching, and it’s time to start getting stoked about the possibilities of this new and much, much-improved edition of the purple and gold. Accompanying Lebron James to the entrance gates of Lakerland are wily vets such as Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Javale Mcgee and Michael Beasley.
Although all four of them are talented and have plenty of playoff experience, many national pundits have questioned the wisdom of adding them to the same team.
Some have a reputation for being prickly, or in McGee’s case, goofy and absent-minded. Although it’s a fair point to make, one could easily make the counterpoint that their benefits will far outweigh their liabilities.
That is certainly true for Michael Beasley. He was one of the top prospects in the 2008 NBA Draft and was chosen second overall by the Miami Heat.
But due to some apparent immaturity issues, he didn’t fully pan out. Although, he averaged a respectable 14.3 points a game on 46.1 percent shooting while playing 27.3 minutes per game during two seasons in South Florida.
Since then, he’s been something of a journeyman, and he hasn’t been able to stick with the same team for more than two years at a time. The narrative that has always surrounded him has been that he’s talented, but that he lacks focus, professionalism and maturity. He has also had some off the court incidents.
Now he’s a Laker, and even though he’s still young at age 29, he’s come along far enough where he can actually be an asset to a Laker team that is looking to become a legit championship contender sooner than later. But how can a guy who has his kind of checkered past actually be an asset to a high-quality team?
These are five reasons that the signing of Beasley was a good one for the Lakers.