As if that was even possible, the Houston Rockets locker room somehow just managed to get more explosive.
Former No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley is headed to Houston to sign a rest-of-the-year deal with the Rockets according to Marc Stein of ESPN on Wednesday. The deal is also said to include a team option for next season.
Sources say Michael Beasley is en route to Houston to sign with the Rockets on a rest-of-the-season deal … with a team option next season
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) March 2, 2016
Beasley, 27, is fresh off lighting the Chinese universe on fire, averaging 31.9 points per game, 13.2 rebounds per game, and 3.8 assists per game for the Shandong Golden Stars this CBA season, en route to league MVP honors.
Though Beasley, one of the biggest draft busts of the modern era, has been out of the NBA for over a year, his exploits in China apparently inspired enough confidence for the Rockets (who were not without competition for Beasley) to throw a somewhat long-term deal at him, rather than the usual 10-day contracts that characterize this time of year.
Houston is currently at 29-31 on the season, eighth in the Western Conference. Beasley can play both forward positions off the bench for the Rockets, a welcome development given the ineffectiveness of Terrence Jones, the slenderness of Corey Brewer, and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s reluctance to give meaningful minutes to rookies Montrezl Harrell and Sam Dekker.
Beasley could really help Houston from a basketball standpoint, but let’s keep our fingers crossed that his erratic personality doesn’t push the team’s chemistry over the edge into total lunacy.
Image Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
