As the NBA offseason lurches forward, one of the Bucks’ own free agents found a new home after five days sitting on the market: former starting shooting guard Malik Beasley will be taking his talents to the Detroit Pistons, as reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania:
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
“$6 million-plus” is a good bit of business for the 27-year-old. It became clear in the waning days of June that Beas was all but gone from Milwaukee, which came as little surprise. Without cap room or access to any exceptions, the Bucks could only offer him a small raise on the minimum contract they signed him to last offseason since all they controlled were his non-Bird rights. Instead, he’ll find a several million-dollar raise on the open market with the NBA’s worst team.
After his four-year, $60m rookie contract extension concluded a year ago, Beasley’s value was pretty low after being played off the floor during the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The Lakers acquired him from the Jazz at that year’s deadline following a few productive years with the Wolves, where he further established himself as one of the NBA’s best volume three-point shooters. However, his lack of defense kept him glued to the bench more and more as his team marched to the Western Conference Finals, playing just one minute in that series as they were swept by the Nuggets. Needing to rehabilitate his value, he took a one-year minimum deal with the Bucks, reportedly taking less money to play for a title contender.
Though he had a career-best season in terms of percentage from deep, was named the starting two guard once Grayson Allen left in the Damian Lillard trade, and coming just six made threes from setting the Bucks’ single-season record, Beasley was back on the bench come playoff time. He rejoined the starting lineup for two games during the Pacers series only due to Lillard’s injury. Ultimately, he’s another name in a long line of off-ball guards the Bucks have employed over the Giannis years. Still, his season managed to merit a raise, though not the long-term deal he probably sought. With the rebuilding Pistons, he seems likely to start again and find himself on the move to a contending team at the deadline, just like in 2023.
Previous reporting indicated that Beasley was seeking a starting salary closer to the full mid-level exception of $12.8m. While this comes up well short of that, the taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.2m is the absolute most that Milwaukee could have realistically offered, but that would have required the franchise to clear nearly $10m of salary, both very difficult and unlikely for someone removed from the starting lineup at the end of the regular season. His new deal with Detroit appears to be coming in just north of the TPMLE, so they’ll have to sign him with either cap space or their version of the MLE (the room exception).
Beasley will wrap up his Milwaukee tenure with 11.3 PPG on .443/.413/.714 shooting in 79 games (77 starts). Best of luck to Beas in Detroit.
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