Report: Michael Beasley headed back to China
"Supercool Beas" is heading back east.
Michael Beasley is set to sign with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to Hupu. Beasley will earn $600,000 on his contract, according to international basketball reporter David Pick.
The former No. 2 overall draft pick began last season with the Shanghai Sharks before catching on with the Miami Heat for the season's stretch run. The Chinese season ends early enough that players can theoretically return to the NBA in time to be eligible for playoff rosters, though it's unclear if that's Beasley's intention again in 2015-16.
The Heat signed Beasley to a 10-day contract initially, starting his third go-round with the franchise. From there, the admittedly humbled Beasley worked his way to a second 10-day contract and then a deal for the remainder of the season, though the Heat opted to decline their team option on Beasley for this season.
Playing primarily at power forward and even seeing spot duty at center, Beasley averaged 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21 minutes over 24 games for the Heat, but shot 43.4 percent from the floor and 23.5 percent from long range. He's averaged 13 points and 4.8 rebounds over 433 career games with three teams.
His numbers in Shanghai were more robust, averaging 28.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.9 steals while shooting 51.3 percent.