Tag: Michael Beasley

Chinese team with a suspended Eric Bledsoe disqualified for ‘fixing’ multiple playoff games

Yao Ming, the CBA’s president, called it a “saddening” week for the league.

Two basketball teams in the Chinese Basketball Association, the Shanghai Sharks and the Jiangsu Dragons, were thrown out of the ongoing playoffs for match-fixing.

The Sharks have several players with NBA experience including Eric Bledsoe, Johnny O’Bryant, and Jamaal Franklin (who last played in March). Antonio Blakeney is the only player with NBA experience on the Dragons, although a few other players on the roster have played NBA Summer League.

Findings from an investigation from the CBA Disciplinary and Ethics Commission concluded that Shangai showed “negative contention” during the second game of a three-game series, which Jiangsu won.

Bledsoe was serving a four-game suspension for the Sharks, and he served all three during the three-game series against the Dragons. But the team was accused of “giving up” during the second game, forcing a third game, so that he could return for the second game if his team advanced to the semifinals.

Jiangsu then demonstrated a “lack of competitive effort” in the third and final game of the series, in which Shanghai won 108-104.

Jiangsu had several “unexpected errors” in the final few minutes of the game and coach Li Nan failed to call a timeout that could have at least kept them in contention.

Here is a video summary of the pivotal moments in question:

According to Mark Dreyer, each club was fined approximately the equivalent of $727,000. Shanghai coach Li Chunjiang and Jiangsu GM Shi Linjie were each given a 5-year ban from the league.

Jiangsu coach Li Nan and Shanghai GM Jiang Yusheng, meanwhile, were both handed 3-year bans.

Shanghai was scheduled to play the Shenzhen Aviators (who have former NBA and G League players Jared Sullinger, Justin Wright-Foreman, and Askia Booker on their roster). Shenzhen will now advance to the semifinals now that Shanghai was ruled ineligible.

Yao Ming, who played for the Sharks before coming to the United States, is now the president of the Chinese Basketball Association. He called it a “quite saddening” week.

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Michael Beasley accidentally suggested 223 million people could defend him, thanks to unfortunate typo

Former NBA player Michael Beasley was a top scorer when he was active in the league. But a typo would have you believe otherwise.

It is nearly unfathomable how much better at basketball the average NBA player is than everyone else in the universe.

Because of how much talent there is in the league, it is easy to forget that even the worst player in the league would destroy a lot of D-I ballers. But anyone who can play at the highest levels in college would give nightmares to a solid player at the YMCA.

Watch any video of Brian Scalabrine, rocking the world of anyone who has ever challenged him to a game of one-on-one. Scalabrine averaged 3.1 points per game during his professional career and never reached 7.0 ppg.

If that’s what Scalabrine could do, imagine what Michael Beasley — who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft — could accomplish. He scored more than 12.0 points per game during his time in the league and reached as many as 19.2 ppg back in 2010-11.

So it’s not unreasonable for Beasley to declare that most of the planet could defend him. Especially at one point, when he averaged 26.2 points per game at Kansas State, almost no one walking the planet could stop him from ever scoring the basketball.

Beasley tweeted that there are approximately 7.75 billion people walking the Earth. While he presumably meant to say that only 223 of them could guard him, due to an incredibly unfortunate typo, that’s not what Beasley said.

Instead, based on math pointed out by nerds across Twitter, what Beasley actually said was that a whopping 223 million people could guard him.

As some folks pointed out, that would mean the entire population of Pakistan could give him the clamps. Yikes!

Beasley later realized the mistake and tweeted that he simply forgot to add an incredibly necessary “7” at the beginning of the number.

He might be humble but he doesn’t actually think that more than two-thirds of the United States population could lock him down while playing pickup.

Even though he isn’t actively in the NBA, Beasley is still one of the most skilled players on the planet. He could still give the business to nearly any challenger — except for the elite group of players who are in the league.

Oh, and the 230 million other people who he said could shut him down.

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The oldest players in summer league this year

Summer league is usually for recently drafted players or young free agents giving the NBA dream a shot, but not all time. There are also veterans who use that platform to try and reignite their NBA careers. Among those older guys playing this summer …

Summer league is usually for recently drafted players or young free agents giving the NBA dream a shot, but not all time. There are also veterans who use that platform to try and reignite their NBA careers.

Among those older guys playing this summer are very recognizable names like Michael Beasley and Kenneth Faried, both of whom are suiting up for the Portland Trail Blazers, as well as Brandon Knight (Brooklyn Nets) and many others.

Below, check out the oldest players participating in summer league this year.

Notable NBA veterans who are eligible for 2021 G League Draft

When the upcoming NBA G League season tips off next months, fans can expect to see more familiar faces than they would in a typical year.

When the upcoming NBA G League season tips off next months, fans can expect to see more familiar faces than they would in a typical year.

The NBA G League is hosting a bubble tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sport Complex in Florida. Once teams are assembled, they will arrive to the location by January 26 for physicals and onboarding. The first game is set for February 8 and teams are expected to play a “12-to-15 game schedule” before their single-elimination playoffs from March 5-March 9.

This offseason, per ESPN, the league also eliminated restrictions for signing players with at least five years of NBA experience. For example, as reported by Adam Johnson, this is how Jeremy Lin was able to sign outright with the Santa Cruz Warriors rather than enter the draft pool. This is reportedly a one-time exception for the G League.

Similarly, others with NBA experience signed outright as veteran mentors for the inaugural G League Ignite squad. Players like Amir Johnson and Bobby Brown will lend a hand for top prospects like Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green as they transition to the pros.

Otherwise, however, players not already on a roster who are looking to get back on the court and play in the upcoming bubble season will have to hear their names called on Monday. Over the last few days, we have learned about several players (e.g. Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson) who recently signed NBA G League Standard Player Contracts.

Even those who have been around the league for years have no guarantee of being selected, though. There are only 17 teams playing in the bubble, as 12 have opted out.

While the draft will have a maximum of 26 players selected, teams are allowed to forfeit their picks, so that number could end up even smaller. But that has not swayed the nearly 200 players who are hopeful about suiting up in Florida.

The 2021 G League Draft is scheduled for Monday, January 11, at 1:15 PM EST. Below are some of the most notable candidates, listed in order of how many minutes they have played in the NBA:

Justin Anderson officially signs with Nets as substitute player

Following Michael Beasley’s departure from the Disney bubble, the Brooklyn Nets have signed Justin Anderson.

Justin Anderson is officially a member of the Brooklyn Nets organization once again. The team announced the forward signed with the franchise on Saturday as a substitute player for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

Anderson is the fifth substitute player the Nets have signed ahead of the NBA’s restart in the Disney World bubble. Though, the first substitute player Brooklyn signed, Michael Beasley, has reportedly left the Disney bubble after testing positive for COVID-19.

With Beasley gone, the other substitute players on the Nets roster — in addition to Anderson — are Jamal Crawford, Lance Thomas and Donta Hall.

Anderson appeared in three games for Brooklyn this season while on a 10-day contract.

After his contract with Brooklyn wasn’t renewed, he rejoined the organization as a member of the Nets’ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.

With Long Island, Anderson averaged 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game over the course of 16 games.

RELATED: Michael Beasley will not rejoin Nets, to be replaced on roster

Report: Justin Anderson signing with Nets

After spending significant time with the Nets’ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, Justin Anderson is back with Brooklyn.

Before the Nets signed Lance Thomas or Donta Hall, even before they were linked to Michael Beasley and Jamal Crawford, Brooklyn was reportedly considering Justin Anderson as a substitute player option.

But the Nets signed Beasley, Crawford and Hall first. Then Thomas emerged as a substitute player candidate, leaving Anderson’s status in question — even though he was in the bubble with Brooklyn.

Not long after Thomas signed with the team, it was reported Beasley had tested positive for COVID-19, left the bubble and his return was in question. Two days after the report of Beasley’s departure came, another surfaced indicating he wasn’t coming back — giving Anderson another opportunity to sign with the Nets.

And now Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting Anderson is set to be a member of the organization once again.

Anderson last played for the Nets’ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, after logging three games for Brooklyn while on a 10-day contract.

RELATED: Michael Beasley will not rejoin Nets, to be replaced on roster

Report: Michael Beasley will not rejoin Nets, to be replaced on roster

Michael Beasley’s run with the Brooklyn Nets ended as quickly as it started.

On Thursday, July 9, the Brooklyn Nets announced they had signed their first Disney bubble substitute player: Michael Beasley.

Less than a week later, multiple reports indicated the veteran forward had left the bubble. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Beasley left after testing positive for COVD-19. At the time, it was unclear to anyone if Beasley was going to return to the bubble to play for Brooklyn.

But now it’s clear. Beasley is not coming back to the bubble, per Charania. As a result, the Nets will look to fill his roster spot. Charania notes Justin Anderson as a candidate to be signed.

Anderson, who last played for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, was linked to the team after Wilson Chandler elected to opt-out of the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

Although Anderson has not yet been signed, the forward recently revealed he is with the Nets in Florida.

RELATED: Justin Anderson in Disney bubble with Nets

Report: Michael Beasley tests positive for COVID-19, leaves Disney bubble

Michael Beasley has been a member of the Brooklyn Nets for less than a week and he’s already left the Disney bubble.

Michael Beasley was the first of four players to sign with the Brooklyn Nets as a substitute player for the NBA’s restart at Disney World. Jamal Crawford and Donta Hall signed soon after Beasley, and Lance Thomas signed with the Nets on Tuesday.

Not long after Brooklyn announced Thomas was the newest member of the franchise, ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Tim Bontemps reported that Beasley has left the NBA bubble at Disney World.

According to the rules NBA laid out for the bubble, Beasley will be subject to extra COVID-19 testing and a 10-14 day quarantine period, given teams are still in the training camp phase of the restart.

Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting Beasley has tested positive for COVID-19 and went home.

Andrews and Bontemps are also reporting, “It remains unclear if Beasley will eventually rejoin the team inside the bubble.”

Beasley will also have to sit out his first five games with the Nets for violating the Anti-Drug policy last April, which happened when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jamal Crawford: Michael Beasley is ‘a walking bucket’

After losing seven significant players ahead of the Disney bubble, the Brooklyn Nets have signed an interesting pair of veterans to help.

The additions of Michael Beasley and Jamal Crawford are significant to the Brooklyn Nets’ success in the bubble in more ways than one.

On the simplest level, the Nets needed bodies after losing seven players to injury, illness or opt-outs — which is where signing Donta Hall also helps.

Beasley and Crawford are also seasoned veterans. The Nets were already young to begin with, but Garrett Temple (nine years) and Joe Harris (five) were the only players on Brooklyn’s bubble roster with more than three full years of NBA experience under their belt.

But with Kevin Durant (right Achilles), Kyrie Irving (right shoulder) and Spencer Dinwiddie (team decided to hold him out after second positive COVID-19 test) all out, the Nets lacked play-making scorers. Crawford is more than capable of taking on that role, and he told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio podcast Beasley can do the same:

Beas, has always been one of the more talented guys in the league. A walking bucket. You don’t need to run plays for him, just get him the ball and he makes it happen. That’s the luxury of having a guy like that on the team; a guy that’s a dog, a guy who you could go to war with. We’ve always been playing, but we never played together, so for the immediate future, that should be a lot of fun.

Donta Hall signs deal with Nets

The Brooklyn Nets have signed their third replacement player in two days to help their depleted Disney bubble roster.

After losing seven players leading up to the NBA’s restart of the 2019-20 season — Kevin Durant (right Achilles), Kyrie Irving (right shoulder), Nic Claxton (left shoulder), Wilson Chandler (elected to opt-out), DeAndre Jordan (elected to opt-out after testing positive for COVID-19), Spencer Dinwiddie (team decided to hold him out after second positive COVID-19 test) and Taurean Prince (ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19) — the Brooklyn Nets have now cut their losses down to four with the signing of three replacement players.

After signing veterans Michael Beasley and Jamal Crawford on Thursday, the Nets announced on Friday Donta Hall has signed to play with Brooklyn in the Disney bubble.

Hall is a 22-year-old, 6-foot-9 power forward. Although he’s not a center like Jarrett Allen, Hall can help Brooklyn deal with their lack of bigs in the bubble with Jordan and Claxton out.

A 2020 Second Team All-NBA G League, Hall averaged a double-double (15.4 points and 10.6 rebounds), along with 1.4 blocks per game for the Grand Rapids Drive, the Detroit Pistons’ G League affiliate.

Hall playing in four games for the Pistons before the hiatus, as well. He averaged 12 minutes a night, scoring 2.3 points and grabbing 3.8 rebounds per game.

RELATED: Michael Beasley officially signs with Nets

RELATED: Jamal Crawford inks deal with Nets