Free agent swingman Malik Beasley is in advanced talks on a rest-of-season contract with Partizan Belgrade, reports Dusan Markovic of Nova.rs (hat tip to Sportando).
According to Markovic, the deal for Beasley would be worth around $2MM and would not contain an NBA opt-out clause.
Beasley appeared in all 82 regular season games for the Pistons in 2024/25 and was expected to cash in over the summer after averaging 16.3 points while shooting a career-best 41.3% from three-point range and finishing runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
However, word broke in June, just ahead of Beasley’s NBA free agency, that he was being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for possible illegal betting activity. The 29-year-old was reportedly in discussions with the Pistons at the time about a potential three-year, $42MM deal, but that fell apart as a result of the federal investigation.
Beasley wasn’t named in October’s indictments that resulted in the arrests of Heat guard Terry Rozier and Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups due to separate but related gambling cases. But Beasley reportedly hasn’t been cleared by federal investigators or by the NBA, which is conducting its own probe into the matter, so he remains in limbo for now.
Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews reported last month that teams in Europe and China were exhibiting “strong” interest in Beasley, but he remains unsigned for now. Detroit and Cleveland are among the NBA teams monitoring Beasley’s situation.
Partizan Belgrade, also known as KK Partizan, competes in both the ABA League and the EuroLeague. The Serbian team features several former NBA players, including Shake Milton and Jabari Parker, but has gotten off to a slow start in the EuroLeague, currently holding a 5-9 record.
They are in so bad condition structurally that they ll even risk with Beasley.
What risk is it to them? I don’t think people realize how coddled athletes and law breakers are in this country. Imagine he went to China and tried to gamble on games there and how the Chinese gov would treat him. He tries to mess around in Serbia and he will wish he was arrested in the US instead.
Actually game rigging is very common in sports in Europe. Obviously mostly in soccer. Europe judicial systems are joke.
2 mill is best he will do this year. He is still being investigated I believe. Better get use-to Euro ball lol.
Beasley went from a possible FA 15 mill a yr plus.
To now this. He obviously failed math and morality .Should be thankful I guess…..