Malik Beasley, a prominent NBA player, is no longer the subject of the federal investigation into gambling taking place in the Eastern District of New York, according to his lawyers, Steve Haney and Mike Schachter. This news could reopen free agency options for one of the league’s most effective shooters. The legal representatives of Beasley held extensive conversations with the authorities of the Eastern District of New York, who determined that the player is not considered the target of the investigation. The initial accusations were related to bets on NBA games and prop bets, made during the 2023-24 season.
On June 29, it was reported that Beasley was under federal investigation, which led to the suspension of his negotiations and free agency offers, just before the official start of this stage. At that time, an NBA spokesman stated that the league was cooperating with the investigation. Before the investigation was made public, Beasley was expected to sign a three-year, $42 million contract with the Detroit Pistons. However, the franchise stopped the proposal upon learning of the investigation, and other interested teams also paused talks with the player. During the last few weeks, several teams have been in contact with Beasley’s representatives to learn about his situation. In the previous season, Beasley averaged 16.3 points in the 82 games he played with the Pistons. In addition, he achieved 319 three-pointers, the most in franchise history and the second-best mark in the NBA. He also stood out as the second player with the most points and three-pointers off the bench. Beasley signed a one-year contract with the Pistons in the 2024 offseason. Due to Detroit signing Caris LeVert, the maximum contract the Pistons can offer Beasley is $7.2 million. Among the teams that could offer Beasley a contract exceeding $7.2 million are the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and Washington Wizards. The Brooklyn Nets also have salary cap space. During the 2023-24 season, which was the focus of the accusations, Beasley averaged 11.3 points in 79 games with the Milwaukee Bucks. A betting house detected an unusually high interest in Beasley’s statistics starting in January 2024. A match between the Bucks and the Portland Trail Blazers on January 31, 2024, was flagged, where the odds on Beasley’s rebounds changed drastically due to an increase in bets. Beasley finished with six rebounds, and the bets considered unusual resulted in losses. The Beasley case is reminiscent of previous situations in the league, such as that of Jontay Porter, former player for the Toronto Raptors, who was sanctioned by the NBA for revealing confidential information to bettors and betting on games. The NBA Players Association (NBPA) reiterated that there is no evidence of a widespread gambling problem in the league, beyond Porter’s case.Months after this investigation began, Malik has not been charged and is not the target of it. An accusation without charges, nor formal accusation nor conviction should ever have the catastrophic consequence that this has caused Malik. This has been literally the opposite of the presumption of innocence.
Steve Haney, Malik Beasley’s lawyer
In 2020, when he played for the Timberwolves, Beasley pleaded guilty to threats of violence and was sentenced to 120 days in jail, which he served after the 2020-21 season. He was also suspended for 12 games by the NBA in 2021.NBA players compete at the highest level with the utmost integrity and are concerned that prop bets have become an increasingly alarming source of harassment for players, both online and in person. If stricter regulations can help minimize that abuse, then we support examining them more closely.
NBPA Spokesperson
