-
Tim good morningESPN
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 free games for pleading guilty to a felony of threatening violence in a September incident, the NBA said Thursday.
“As an organization, we fully support today’s NBA decision,” Timberwolves basketball operations president Gersson Rosas said in a statement shortly after the suspension was announced. “As we work with Malik to advance his development as a player and as a person, we look forward to seeing him grow.”
Beasley’s suspension will begin on Saturday, when the Timberwolves are in Washington to play the wizards. He will be eligible to return to the court on March 27, when the Minnesota hosts the Houston Rockets.
The suspension will cost the guard $ 1.1 million.
Beasley agreed to a grievance agreement with prosecutors earlier this month, which dropped serious drug charges against him in exchange for a guilty plea. As a result, Beasley was sentenced to 120 days in prison, which could be served either at the county office or at home, after the end of the NBA season in mid-May.
“We are very pleased with this result which will allow Malik to continue working to become a better person and make better choices,” Beasley’s lawyer Steven Haney said in a statement obtained by Mark Schlabach. from ESPN after the plea was agreed earlier this month. .
In a statement obtained by Schlabach in September last year, the Plymouth Police Department said officers had been called to Beasley’s residence for a reported gun offense. Reporters told officers they stopped their car in front of the house and a “suspect went to their vehicle, touched the window of the vehicle, pointed his gun at them and advised them to get out of the property.”
“While the victims were walking away, the suspect was spotted holding the gun to his shoulder, pointing at their vehicle,” the police statement said.
Officers set a perimeter to locate the individual and detected a strong smell of marijuana, according to the statement. A vehicle tried to leave the property and was stopped by police. Three people in the car were detained and later released. A man, who identified himself as the owner, was outside and shouting at the officers.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the property and located narcotics and numerous weapons, one of which was confirmed to have been stolen, police said.
Beasley traded in Minnesota in February last year and signed a four-year, $ 60 million contract with the Timberwolves in the offseason. He was one of the few bright spots of an otherwise awful season for Minnesota, averaging 20.5 points per game and shooting 40% of the 3-point range.
The Timberwolves are the weakest 7-26 in the league and have lost six games in a row, as well as 10 of the last 11 games. They have not won two games in a row since the opening of the two games of the season. The team fired coach Ryan Saunders after Sunday night’s loss to the New York Knicks and hired Chris Finch – who worked for the Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach – as Saunders’ permanent replacement the next day.
Information from Bobby Marks of ESPN was used in this report.