After signing Jamal Crawford to ahead of the NBA’s season restart in Walt Disney World, the Brooklyn Nets have made yet another addition to their team adding veteran forward Michael Beasley Thursday.
The signing comes on the heels of multiple Nets players opting not to partake in the league’s restart because of either injuries or testing positive for COVID-19. Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters that Beasley is currently in Orlando with the team and has passed a physical and is awaiting negative tests for the virus prior to being able to practice with the team.
Marks mentioned to reporters that because of all their new guys on their roster, everyone needs to start to gel with one another. “We need to get these guys in front of our coaching staff and in front of each other. Somebody joked today [that] we were going to have to have them wearing name tags because it is a new roster.”
Beasley last played in the NBA during the 2018-2019 season for the L.A. Lakers where he averaged just seven points per game. He will not be able to play for the team in an actual game until their sixth game in the bubble as he has to serve a five game suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy.
Nets’ coach Jacque Vaughn commented on what Beasley can bring to the team during the restart. “At the end of the day, we wanted this group to know that we’re here to win basketball games, and to maximize this team,” Vaughn said. “So Michael gives us a chance to put the ball in his hands and he can score from multiple positions, he can play multiple positions for us. So organizationally, we would look at the best talent out there and he presented himself and we’ll definitely take advantage of his talents.”
