5. He’s more mature than he seems
The narrative that has always surrounded Michael Beasley since his rookie year hasn’t exactly been positive. The same goes for the Lakers three other veteran role player signings. This apparent gnarly hodge-podge of players has led some to dub them the “Suicide Squad” or the “Meme Team”.
Early on, it seemed like an accurate narrative. Upon receiving his first NBA checks, he foolishly squandered it – first on a Range Rover, then a Bentley, then a Dodge Challenger. By the end of his rookie year, by his own estimation, he had 11 or 12 cars.
He also got into some trouble off the court. He was arrested twice on charges of marijuana possession in two different states. He was also accused of sexual assault in 2013, but luckily for him, he never faced any official charges in that case.
The mistakes he made off the court have stuck with him. Beasley is very aware of his reputation and has seemingly been wounded by it.
"“My whole career I get ‘stoner,’ ‘partier,’ ‘troublemaker,’ and I’ve gotten in trouble a few times back in the day — not even back in the day, it’s not that long ago — I got in trouble a few times and that’s like the stigma that’s still with me to this day,” “It’s not even that I’m changing now because at this point there’s nothing for me to change. I can cut my hair but I tried that three times, four times already. I can get tattoos removed but nobody will notice it until they’re all gone. Even then would it change? “At this point, I want to be looked at different. I want to be respected. I want to be all of this and all of that but at the same time it’s like one man can’t change the world.”"
But over the years he’s done some soul searching. He now has an eight-year-old daughter and seems genuinely ready to reinvent himself and rewrite his narrative.
Interestingly enough, those who know him have lots of complimentary things to say about him. Among them, he seems to have a reputation for being a likable guy. Members of the Knicks organization were surprisingly impressed with him this past season, and oddly enough they even lauded him for his basketball IQ.
Michael Beasley now has a real chance for redemption in L.A. playing for a class organization with championship DNA. For inspiration, he can look to Metta World Peace, who came to the Lakers in 2009 when he was still known as Ron Artest. Back then, he was a social pariah who still had the stench of the Malice at the Palace, but he put in a solid season and made some clutch shots in the playoffs to help the Lakers win a world championship over the hated Celtics.
All of sudden, between his play on the court and his work off it for mental health awareness, Metta World Peace was suddenly a model citizen, partly because he was under the bright lights of Hollywood and therefore the world got to see who he really was. As the old saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Let’s see if Beasley can disinfect his reputation after a full decade in the NBA. After all, he’s now on a team where he’ll have championship-caliber mentors, and in a city that tends to make or break you.