Michael Beasley says he wasn’t happy with his time as a player with the Miami Heat, as the former No. 2 pick was disappointed he didn’t get more opportunities with the club.
After the Chicago Bulls selected Derrick Rose with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the Heat selected Beasley out of Kansas State University. He averaged 14.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game over two seasons with Miami before being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010 as the Heat were building the foundation for a combination of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
While Beasley has chronic issues with his playing time, he averaged more than 24 minutes per game in each of his first two seasons and started 78 games in his sophomore year.
Beasley eventually got a chance to play with James, Wade and Bosh when he returned to the Heat for the 2013-14 season, and he played again for the Heat late in the 2014-15 campaign.
The 34-year-old last played in the 2018-19 NBA season for the Los Angeles Lakers, with a positive COVID-19 test preventing him from suiting up for the Brooklyn Nets in the following campaign.
Although he tried to come back and play in the NBA, he will likely finish his career averaging 12.4 points and 4.7 rebounds a night in 609 games with seven teams. He ranks 10th in scoring average, 17th in rebounding average and 22nd in games played among players drafted in 2008.
Beasley and former Heat player Mario Chalmers will take part in BIG3 league games at the Heat’s Kaseya Center this weekend. Chalmers won NBA titles with the Heat in 2012 and 2013 and said he wants to get into coaching at some point.
The return of former players to the game in Miami comes against the background of the Heat trying to add important new ones. They remain in the hunt to sign Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers, although trade talks between the two sides are reportedly falling short heading into the offseason.