Michael Beasley to be released by Suns in coming days
The Suns will reportedly release Michael Beasley by the end of the week. (Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns are set to release forward Michael Beasley this week, according to a report Tuesday from Marc Stein of ESPN.
The news comes on the heels of Beasley's arrest this summer for marijuana possession, another chapter in the well-documented legal troubles the 24-year-old has faced since his entry into the NBA as the second overall pick by the Miami Heat in the 2008 draft.
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Last summer, Beasley left the Minnesota Timberwolves for a three-year, $18 million deal to play in Phoenix. Ryan McDonough, the 33-year-old former Boston Celtics executive who was named the Suns' new general manager this past spring, is "eager to move" Beasley, according to the report, as part of the team's effort to put behind last season, in which the Suns finished with a 25-57 record. By waiving him, the team will pay out the $6 million owed to him next season but can spread the $3 million guaranteed to him for the 2014-15 season over several years.
In August, McDonough traded Caron Butler to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard Ish Smith and center Slava Kravtsov.
The move to cut Beasley would bring an end to a one-year stint in Phoenix in which he averaged a career-low 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20 minutes per game and appeared in 75 contests.
