The Milwaukee Bucks are working on replacing some key members of their rotation for the upcoming season. So far, they have signed former Miami Heat point guard Delon Wright and former Los Angeles Lakers power forward Taurean Prince. Both players are expected to come off of Milwaukee’s bench and help improve that unit’s three-point shooting and defense.
However, the Bucks still need to figure out what they are going to do about their starting shooting guard position. Last year, they were able to convince Malik Beasley to play for them on a veteran minimum contract with the promise of a starting job.
Malik Beasley Had a Solid Year for the Milwaukee Bucks
Beasley ended up starting 77 of the 79 games in which he played for the Bucks. he averaged 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting a career-best 41.3% from three.
Beasley was invited to participate in the Three-Point Competition during NBA All-Star Weekend, an event that was won by his Bucks’ teammate Damian Lillard.
Beasley ended up making 224 three-point shots in his only season in Milwaukee, which is the second-highest total in franchise history. Ray Allen made 229 during the 2001-02 season.
Beasley, however, was not the defensive presence that Milwaukee hoped he would become. To be fair, when Beasley was signed, Jrue Holiday was still on the team. However, trading Holiday for Lillard meant that the Bucks were going to be missing some stellar defense in their backcourt.
Beasley was named the team’s stopper in the backcourt, a role that he struggled to fill. Had he come back to Milwaukee, he may have been relegated to the bench, just as he was towards the end of the regular season.
Former Milwaukee Bucks Shooting Guard Malik Beasley Signed with the Detroit Pistons
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Beasley is leaving Milwaukee to sign a one-year $6 million contract with the Detroit Pistons:
Free agent sharpshooter Malik Beasley plans to sign a one-year, $6 million-plus deal with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Beasley’s agent, Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management, has been negotiating the new deal with Pistons officials. pic.twitter.com/uNt4HRqX5v
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2024
The $6 million salary is more than the Bucks could have paid Beasley, who certainly did not get the market in free agency that he may have been expecting. Indeed, he probably thought that he would have received multi-year offers from other teams considering his three-point percentage last season. However, that does not seem to be the case.
Beasley is going from the Bucks, who finished third in the NBA Eastern Conference with a 49-33 record to the Pistons, who finished with the worst record in the NBA at 14-68.
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