Right Team, Wrong Time
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, November 18, 2010 with No comments
At 6'10 and 235 pounds, Michael Beasley has the perfect size to play forward in today's NBA. During his one season at Kansas State he averaged 26.4 points per game and 12.4 rebounds which established him as being one of the top picks in the 2008 NBA draft. In his one season in college Beasley was the recipient of multiple awards such as the Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards.
That same year the Miami Heat finished with a NBA worst 15-67 record due to the fact that the 2006 Championship team was broken up. Alonzo Mourning blew his knee out "which ended his career", Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Phoenix Suns, and Dwyane Wade was lost for the majority of the season with knee and shoulder problems. History will show that the Miami Heat tanked the season in hopes of acquiring the first pick of the draft. Michael Beasley was the Heat's choice all along and despite the Heat acquiring the 2nd pick and not the first, they still got their man. The Chicago Bulls received the first pick in the 2008 draft and selected Derrick Rose over Beasley due to the fact that Beasley was portrayed as being immature and mentally not ready for the NBA.
The Miami Heat culture is a culture based on tough defense, strict half court offensive philosophy and an us against the world mentality and they asked a 19 year old kid whose was neither one of those things to fit in and perform well. The Heat culture will well respected around the league but Michael Beasley is a different player all together, he's a player who doesn't like rules but will for the most part behave in the absence of them. He's a big kid and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that but it just wasn't a great fit for the Heat where he was told to play the role of the second behind Dwyane Wade and eventually the third option after Jermaine O'Neal arrived. During his two years in Miami, Beasley averaged 14.3 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per. Heat fans were even split on Beasley, one faction wanted him to be the go to guy and the other questioned whether he would be a long term fit for the team. The Heat culture which is designed to help players actually hurt Michael and stripped him of all confidence.
In order to clear the cap space the acquire Lebron James and Chris Bosh to pair them with Wade, the Heat traded Michael Beasley to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Three weeks into the season, Beasley has become the go to guy in Minnesota with a few games of scoring over thirty points and one game where he finished with 42 points. Just last night Beasley scored 33 and also hit the game winner. Thus far in the early season he's having his best NBA season by averaging 22 points per game while shooting 50% and also shooting 52% from beyond the 3-point arc.
I purposely left out the multitude of off the court issues that have plagued Beasley since he entered the league which isn't my usual path. I did so because once any player puts on the Miami Heat player, they are a Heat player for life and I'm taking this time to say that I'm sorry things didn't work out but Mr. Beasley you have my support and I hope you have a great NBA career because you have the skill set and are physically gifted enough to dominate your position for years to come.
That same year the Miami Heat finished with a NBA worst 15-67 record due to the fact that the 2006 Championship team was broken up. Alonzo Mourning blew his knee out "which ended his career", Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Phoenix Suns, and Dwyane Wade was lost for the majority of the season with knee and shoulder problems. History will show that the Miami Heat tanked the season in hopes of acquiring the first pick of the draft. Michael Beasley was the Heat's choice all along and despite the Heat acquiring the 2nd pick and not the first, they still got their man. The Chicago Bulls received the first pick in the 2008 draft and selected Derrick Rose over Beasley due to the fact that Beasley was portrayed as being immature and mentally not ready for the NBA.
The Miami Heat culture is a culture based on tough defense, strict half court offensive philosophy and an us against the world mentality and they asked a 19 year old kid whose was neither one of those things to fit in and perform well. The Heat culture will well respected around the league but Michael Beasley is a different player all together, he's a player who doesn't like rules but will for the most part behave in the absence of them. He's a big kid and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that but it just wasn't a great fit for the Heat where he was told to play the role of the second behind Dwyane Wade and eventually the third option after Jermaine O'Neal arrived. During his two years in Miami, Beasley averaged 14.3 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per. Heat fans were even split on Beasley, one faction wanted him to be the go to guy and the other questioned whether he would be a long term fit for the team. The Heat culture which is designed to help players actually hurt Michael and stripped him of all confidence.
In order to clear the cap space the acquire Lebron James and Chris Bosh to pair them with Wade, the Heat traded Michael Beasley to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Three weeks into the season, Beasley has become the go to guy in Minnesota with a few games of scoring over thirty points and one game where he finished with 42 points. Just last night Beasley scored 33 and also hit the game winner. Thus far in the early season he's having his best NBA season by averaging 22 points per game while shooting 50% and also shooting 52% from beyond the 3-point arc.
I purposely left out the multitude of off the court issues that have plagued Beasley since he entered the league which isn't my usual path. I did so because once any player puts on the Miami Heat player, they are a Heat player for life and I'm taking this time to say that I'm sorry things didn't work out but Mr. Beasley you have my support and I hope you have a great NBA career because you have the skill set and are physically gifted enough to dominate your position for years to come.
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