Report: Lakers work out free agent Michael Beasley
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Close your eyes and imagine this: Nick Young and Michael Beasley on the same basketball team. Swaggy P and Super Cool Beas, unfairly separated by the harsh rules of NBA roster management and player control, together at last.
It's perfect. And it could be happening.
The Lakers worked out free agent forward Michael Beasley in El Segundo on Wednesday, per multiple league sources
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 30, 2014
The Los Angeles Lakers have just 12 players under contract for the coming season and are firmly enough below the luxury tax to add a player like Beasley without any concern.
Source who saw Beasley's workout tells me: "Looked very good and he has been working out ... A tiny rust from layoff but did a good job"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 30, 2014
The concerns, then, would come on the court, where Beasley hasn't been all that effective, and off the court, where he can often be a distraction. There's also a solid chance that superstar Kobe Bryant would have an on-court meltdown when Young and Beasley refused to give Bryant the ball for long stretches.
In any case, Beasley isn't a bad flier at the end of a roster that may not be that competitive anyway. He'd play the three in Los Angeles, and could provide additional shooting with his 34.8 percent career mark from long range. He also owns a league-average player efficiency rating for his career, and this season in Miami he occasionally flashed an ability to score efficiently as a peripheral option.
He's also still just 25 years old and a former No. 2 pick and, well, why not? This could be insanely fun.