Michael Beasley Will No Longer Be Smoking Weed and Playing Basketball in Phoenix | Valley Fever | Phoenix | Phoenix New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Phoenix, Arizona
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Michael Beasley Will No Longer Be Smoking Weed and Playing Basketball in Phoenix

The Phoenix Suns finally got rid of Michael Beasley.Beasley, best known for his role as a frequent customer to the Scottsdale Police Department, also played basketball here on occasion, as he was payed millions of dollars to make a negligible contribution to one of the crappiest teams in the National...
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The Phoenix Suns finally got rid of Michael Beasley.

Beasley, best known for his role as a frequent customer to the Scottsdale Police Department, also played basketball here on occasion, as he was payed millions of dollars to make a negligible contribution to one of the crappiest teams in the National Basketball Association.

See also:
-Michael Beasley Arrested on Marijuana Charge

In his one year with the Suns, Beasley usually came off the bench, as he averaged about 20 minutes per game, 10.1 points, and 3.8 rebounds. Just sayin', point guard Goran Dragic averaged 3.1 rebounds per game.

That's what Beasley -- the second overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft -- provided for the Suns in his one year of a three-year, $18 million contract.

Off the court, he was usually running into Scottsdale PD, as we noted above.

Just last month, Beasley was arrested by Scottsdale police after officers found marijuana in Beasley's possession during a traffic stop.

This, after Beasley said when he signed with the Suns that he was "confident to say that part of my career, that part of my life, is over and won't be coming back."

"That part" being his weed-smoking, which started at rookie camp, when he allegedly was caught in a pot-smoking incident with a couple other rookies, but the proof was never definitive. He was fined $50,000 for the incident, though.

When he played in Minnesota, he was ticketed (lucky) for marijuana possession, and he acknowledged that when he was in Miami, he violated the league's substance-abuse policy (i.e., tested positive for pot) twice.

In 2009, he tweeted out a photo of his new tattoo when he was with the Timberwolves but kind of forgot to move the alleged sack of weed out of the frame.

He also accomplished things not related to basketball or marijuana while he was in the Valley.

Earlier this year, Beasley was arrested by Scottsdale PD for several traffic violations, including going 71 mph in a 45-mph zone, and not having a license plate.

Scottsdale police have been "investigating an allegation of sexual assault involving" Beasley, although no charges have materialized from that assault, which allegedly occurred in January.

He also grew dreadlocks this summer, as seen in his mugshot:


A statement from the team indicates that the Suns only owe him a portion of the remainder of his contract.

Nobody in the team's front office really had anything nice to say about him, either:

"The Suns were devoted to Michael Beasley's success in Phoenix," said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. "However, it is essential that we demand the highest standards of personal and professional conduct as we develop a championship culture. Today's action reflects our commitment to those standards. The timing and nature of this, and all of our transactions, are based on the judgment of our Basketball leadership as to how best to achieve our singular goal of rebuilding an elite team."

"We have high standards for all of our players," said Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough. "We expect them to represent the team and the community in a positive manner both on and off the court."


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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.


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