By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
While under investigation for gambling and placing prop bets on NBA games, Malik Beasley has signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce to join forces with global superstar Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico. His addition was officially announced by the Baloncesto Superior Nacional outfit on Friday.
With his NBA future largely uncertain, Beasley was previously linked to Partizan Mozzart Bet and a potential debut in the EuroLeague, but he quickly denied those reports in December.
He is instead heading to Puerto Rico to play for a club co-owned by the Grammy-winning artist who headlined the Super Bowl LX halftime show last Sunday.
Drafted 19th overall out of Florida State by the Denver Nuggets in 2016, Beasley has played in 578 Regular Season games and 43 playoff matchups in the North American league. His career went from the Nuggets to stops at the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Detroit Pistons. However, his momentum was halted last June when he became the subject of a federal investigation into suspicious betting activity.
By choosing the BSN, which begins its season in March, Beasley, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, opted for a competitive platform closer to home rather than waiting on offers from Belgrade or China. This move allows the 29-year-old sharpshooter, who averaged 16.3 points for Detroit over 82 regular-season appearances last season, to showcase his skills ahead of the next offseason and possibly resurface as a candidate to sign with an NBA team as an unrestricted free agent.