Michael Beasley’s resurrection of his career is nearly complete. Whether it is enough for Knicks brass to make it a priority to keep him next season depends on many factors. Beasley said he wants to be back but knows it takes two to tango.
The Knicks will have a gaping hole at power forward when the 2018-19 season begins in October, with Kristaps Porzingis not expected back until around Christmas at the earliest.
On the surface it’s a no-brainer, and the Knicks hope it works out. But nothing is ever on the surface with the enigmatic lefty and self-proclaimed “Walking Bucket,” who posted 32 points on 14-of-21 shooting in Saturday’s loss to Detroit.
It marked Beasley’s fourth 30-point-plus game this season after posting a total of three 30-point games in the previous six years. For all but three games since Porzingis tore his ACL on Feb. 6, Beasley has started at power forward.
“Hopefully, [but] it’s not up to me,” Beasley said of returning next year. “Ultimately it’s not. It’s not up to me. We’ll see what’s going on this summer and go from there. I would love to be back definitely. A lot goes into that. We’ll assess the situation in summertime.”
Beasley, 29, will be an unrestricted free agent July 1. Most likely, the only method the Knicks have of bringing Beasley back is using a portion of their $8.6 million mid-level exception.
He genuinely wants to return, even making a reference to playing with Porzingis next season. His buddy Kevin Durant said earlier this season he hopes Beasley has finally found a home after a vagabond career, but said he would love to play with him in Golden State if it doesn’t work out in New York.
“I appreciate the opportunity,” said Beasley, who played in China two years ago and got yanked from Jason Kidd’s rotation late last season in Milwaukee. “To play with these guys, it’s an honor to play with [Porzingis], definitely an honor. Unfortunately he didn’t make it to 82 games. But we have next year hopefully. I appreciate the opportunity to play basketball. I’m happy to be here and be seen and happy to have fun.”
A slithery sniper, Beasley is averaging 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 22.6 minutes. He’s shooting 50.8 percent — 41 percent from 3-point land.
But since Porzingis went down, Beasley’s Knicks have gone 5-18. There’s more to the game than scoring, and Knicks brass has a major emphasis on defense. Beasley still takes possessions off and was taken out of the starting lineup briefly during the western swing last month after a bad stretch on both ends of the floor, when coach Jeff Hornacek felt his shooting woes affected his defensive tenacity.
Because of his past baggage, Beasley’s market value isn’t clearly defined, but coaches who come through the Garden rave about the former Kansas State stud.
“He can score in his sleep,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said last week.
After Beasley outing Saturday, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said: “We just couldn’t guard Beasley. He made five really difficult shots. He’s a great scorer. I don’t think anyone played him bad. He can just score.”
It took a couple of months for Hornacek to trust Beasley, though assistant Kurt Rambis has always been in his corner. Rambis, the former Timberwolves head coach when Beasley played there, helped recruit him in the offseason as did player development director Craig Robinson, who worked for Milwaukee last season.
The uncertainty surrounding Beasley’s future also hinges on a possible new coaching hire. For instance, you can count out Beasley if newly minted Hall of Famer Jason Kidd, who could get an interview, is the new man.
“I love Kurt,” Beasley said. “I talked to him when we weren’t on the same team. He’s one of my favorite people — one of the best coaches I’ve played under. He’s always proved to be honest and always going to give it to you straight up. Honesty is like the mirror. Everybody’s scared of the truth.”
The truth is a good signing by the Knicks may mean nothing for next season — if Beasley’s market value balloons. The Knicks may prefer to protect their 2019 cap space or seek a younger player when they use their mid-level exception.
“I would hope they’d want me if Kristaps is healthy,” Beasley said. “We’ll see.”