Report: Rockets plan to keep Michael Beasley
It's not going to cost an arm and a leg for the Houston Rockets to keep former No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley on the roster for the 2016-17 season.
The 27-year-old's team option of $1.4 million becomes fully guaranteed on Monday, and the Rockets reportedly plan on paying and keeping him around, sources told ESPN's Marc Stein.
Beasley signed with Houston near the end of the 2015-16 season to a reported two-year contract after management bought out the deals of both Ty Lawson and Marcus Thornton to create space.
He made the most of his minutes coming off the bench in his 20 appearances, averaging 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 52.2 percent from the field. Beasley maintained that role during the team's opening-round matchup with the Golden State Warriors, although his numbers dipped ever so slightly to 10.4 points on 47.8 percent shooting, along with 4.2 boards.
The 6-foot-10 forward began the year in uniform for the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association, putting up a double-double of 31.9 points and 13.2 rebounds en route to being named the foreign Most Valuable Player.
Beasley has certainly fallen well short of his draft stock over the years, but while he hasn't turned out to be a perennial All-Star, his stint with Houston last year proved that he still has some game left in him. Considering how inexpensive his deal is, there's very little risk in retaining someone like Beasley, who can score in bunches and crash the glass on the second unit.