The Houston Rockets are giving Michael Beasley another NBA chance
The Houston Rockets have encountered many problems in this very disappointing season, but the most common thread tying it all together is an apparent lack of seriousness. A team led by James Harden and Dwight Howard has failed to put forward a consistent effort under two coaches, defends at a level somewhere around mediocrity, and is generally just as likely to come up with an impressive win as a confounding loss. It’s a fair bet that they will look to reform the roster this offseason no matter where they finish in the standings. The recent buyout of Ty Lawson was a good start.
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The Rockets apparently want to end this season in a blaze of glory, though, because they’re about to add forward Michael Beasley on a minimum contract for the rest of the season. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported the story:
Sources told ESPN.com that Beasley and the Rockets have agreed to a contract for the rest of the season at the league minimum, with Houston possessing a team option for next season.
ESPN.com reported last week that Beasley, 27, bypassed a lucrative offer from perennial European power Maccabi Tel Aviv, as well as other overseas interest, because he was determined to return to the NBA.
Beasley just finished up a terrific season with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association, where he earned MVP honors for both the All-Star Game and the season. His gaudy per-game averages of 31.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, and even 3.8 assists were at least partially dependent on the poor standard of defense in China, but Beasley clearly still has a decent portion of the scoring talent that made him the second overall pick in the 2008 draft.
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On the other hand, he’s arguably the recent NBA player most synonymous with a lack of focus, particularly on defense. That’s not necessarily a major problem for the Rockets, because an early-March pickup penciled in as a back-of-the-rotation player at best is not going to affect a team’s attitude nearly as much as the guys who have already been there several seasons. Nevertheless, it’s not the kind of move that suggests the Rockets are about to reach a new level of professionalism. To put it another way, there’s a reason other teams near the Rockets in the standings weren’t pushing to add Beasley for the stretch run.
Optics can only mean so much when a team has as many on-court issues as the Rockets. Nevertheless, this pickup is not going to stop the current concerns over Houston’s organizational priorities and temperament.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
