Shortly before the end of the moratorium period, free agent Malik Beasley has agreed to a one-year contract with the Detroit Pistons worth at least $6 million, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Beasley, 27, averaged 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 29.6 minutes for the Milwaukee Bucks last season, with a career-high 60.3% true shooting percentage and a career-low 14.2% usage rate. He also made a career-high 42.4% of his catch-and-shoot 3s.
The Pistons will sign Beasley with cap space. Even after doing so, they will have upward of $20 million of space remaining. Earlier this offseason, they agreed to a two-year, $52 million deal with free agent Tobias Harris and traded Quentin Grimes to the Dallas Mavericks for Tim Hardaway Jr. and three second-round picks.
With Harris, Hardaway and now Beasley on the roster, new coach J.B. Bickerstaff can balance the rotation with several veterans. Detroit finished last season with the No. 27 offense in the NBA and clearly needed more structure and spacing. Both Hardaway and Beasley can shoot on the move.
On the other hand, there is a bit of a glut of guards. Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey will both presumably start, recent No. 5 picks Ausar Thompson (2023) and Ron Holland (2024) need minutes to develop and Marcus Sasser was a bright spot last season.
Given that Beasley will be on such a team-friendly deal, though, it is easy to understand this pickup. If the Pistons want to clear their logjam, they can likely move him before the trade deadline.
