The Philadelphia 76ers still have a few glaring issues on their roster with training camp slowly creeping in. The front office has time to address those, but their options at this juncture are far from ample. Free agency has basically finished outside of some outliers and restricted free agents navigating through delicate negotiations, one of which includes Quentin Grimes.
One outlier who is still somehow without a team for next season is Malik Beasley, who just turned in his best campaign as a pro with the Pistons. That is completely imputable to his off-court troubles related to allegation of prop bets and gambling in relation to NBA games, for which he was cleared from investigation just recently.
As a result, the market for his services has soared and interest in him has peaked once again, with a handful of contenders having already expressed interest in signing him to a hugely discounted deal. The 76ers, one of the teams in desperate need of actual snipers, are not in the rumored loop of interested teams, which is definitely a missed opportunity.
But even if Philly later on registers interest in Beasley, this latest report basically forecloses any opportunity for them to make a viable bid anyway.
76ers almost officially misses out on the chance to sign Malik Beasley
According to Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto, the Pistons and Timberwolves have touched base with Beasley’s camp with respect to a potential deal.
Minnesota registering interest is far from a shocker, of course, given that Beasley has already played for the franchise. But the more striking bit of this report is Detroit engaging with the sharpshooter’s camp once again. Naturally, after the kind of season he had, his most recent team would be very interested in bringing him back.
Aside from the element of most proximate familiarity, though, the Pistons can offer more money to Beasley than all the teams rumored to be eyeing him as a late offseason pickup. In effect, that closes the door on teams that could eventually realize the necessity of being in that sweepstakes, like the 76ers.
Philadelphia would have been a perfect destination for Beasley aside from money reasons. The veteran was second in the entire league in made three-pointers last season, and with the 76ers being a bottom team in all three-point metrics, he would have been a perfect piece to their puzzle.
Now, that is effectively over, and the team will enter the season still touting a key weakness.