Free agent wing Malik Beasley is no longer a target of the federal gambling investigation being conducted by the Eastern District of New York, attorneys Steve Haney and Mike Schachter tell Shams Charania of ESPN.
Word broke in June, just ahead of free agency, that Beasley was under federal investigation due to allegations related to gambling and prop bets made the 2023/24 season. According to Charania, Beasley’s lawyers have had “extensive” discussions with the Eastern District of New York in recent weeks and learned that the investigation isn’t targeting their client.
“Months after this investigation commenced, Malik remains uncharged and is not the target of this investigation,” Haney said. “An allegation with no charge, indictment or conviction should never have the catastrophic consequence this has caused Malik. This has literally been the opposite of the presumption of innocence.”
While Beasley is legally afforded the presumption of innocence, it wouldn’t have made sense for an NBA team to sign him without assurances that he would be cleared. A worst-case outcome for Beasley would have meant a lifetime ban from the league, similar to the one levied by the NBA on Jontay Porter after it was determined that Porter manipulated prop bets by exiting at least one game early, citing health reasons.
As Charania details, investigators in this case were believed to be focused on unusually heavy betting activity on Beasley’s statistics in January 2024, including a Jan. 31 game in which action on his “under 2.5 rebounds” prop bet surged significantly in the hours leading up to tip-off — he ended up grabbing six rebounds in that game.
Multiple reports published in late June and early July indicated that Beasley was dealing with a number of financial issues, including facing a lawsuit from his former marketing agency. Court records earlier this month suggested that the 28-year-old had been sued by his landlord and evicted from his apartment.
While Charania’s report doesn’t definitively state that Beasley is 100% in the clear, it doesn’t sound as if any charges are forthcoming, so it seems likely there will be renewed interest from NBA teams interested in signing him. He’s coming off a strong season in Detroit in which he was the Sixth Man of the Year runner-up after averaging 16.3 points per game and ranking second in the NBA in three-pointers made (319).
Before news of the investigation broke, the Pistons and Beasley were working toward a potential three-year deal worth roughly $42MM, according to Charania, who notes that other clubs had interest in the sharpshooter and some have stayed in touch with his representatives about his status.
Detroit no longer has the ability to sign Beasley for $42MM over three years — that would have required cap room or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which has since been used on Caris LeVert. But the Pistons do still hold his Non-Bird rights, giving them the ability to offer a 2025/26 salary up to $7.2MM (a 20% raise on last season’s $6MM salary). Few teams – and even fewer playoff contenders – still have the ability to offer more than that amount at this point in the offseason.
The Knicks are among the other teams that have done due diligence on Beasley’s situation, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv, though they could only offer a minimum-salary contract.
These watchdog groups are going to ruin people’s careers just because some crackhead in Florida bets 10k on a players under a couple of times.
If Malik wasn’t such a moron with money there wouldn’t have been a motive
Man needs to sue Shams and ESPN for lost wages
A guy can’t be broke without everyone assuming he’s a criminal?
Correct. Welcome to being poor
It’s not like they choose to publish these investigations, but word gets out and the media will publish anything without a second thought to the consequences. No different than a murder case where a suspect is exonerated, but the damage would already be done.
That being said, maybe there should be a window of handling for these investigations to occur, with the need for resolution prior to the start of FA. Not a great solution, but not sure what the alternative would be. And it’s also bad for teams if a guy signs a lucrative contract only to have it nullified later on for an investigation that could’ve happened sooner.
That makes one of us
Those allegations cost him millions of dollars… can’t say he’s the smartest with money, but that whole thing couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
Yea… what about that last second score he did when no one else was playing? I for sure thought “they got him” on that one.