The Associated Press reports that Michael Beasley is participating in voluntary workouts with the Miami Heat after spending a month in a rehab facility in Houston. Details of his treatment are unknown.

Beasley worked out for two months prior to entering rehab and reportedly looks “bigger” and is in “phenomenal shape.” The Heat had representatives with Beasley on a daily basis while he was in Houston and head coach Erik Spoelstra personally visited three times.

Henry Abbott of TrueHoop analyzes the information and misinformation surrounding Beasley’s rehab.

The more you dig for real information about what’s going on right now, the muddier the picture becomes.

One group of sources swears that Beasley’s off-court life is disastrous. They talk of compounding poor judgment with cars, guns, women and money. They talk of money spent on cars, houses and supporting those around him that far exceeds income. Many tell stories of appointments broken and opportunities lost to a player who seems unable to focus. When word came that he was entering some kind of treatment, several sources said things like “I’m not surprised at all,” and “it could get worse before it gets better.”

This is a good read for those interesting in what’s going on with Beasley, even though the picture isn’t entirely clear.

Per the Sun-Sentinel…

A day after it was confirmed that Michael Beasley had entered a Houston rehab facility, a clearer picture regarding the status of the Miami Heat forward has come into focus.

Sources familiar with the case said Beasley’s stay at the facility is primarily related to the NBA’s substance-abuse program, with this visit planned in advance.

In addition, while concerns have been raised about Beasley’s mental well-being in the wake of web postings by the 20-year-old and comments from those close to him, those concerns have been overstated, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Under league rules, neither those affiliated with individual teams nor those in the league office are allowed to comment on individual cases regarding the NBA’s substance-abuse policy.

However Tuesday, a source familiar with the situation said Beasley is expected to be back with the team by the Sept. 28 start of training camp at AmericanAirlines Arena.

That doesn’t really clear things up, but it paints a better picture. Let’s hope he’s getting the help he needs.

Per ESPN…

Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley has entered a rehabilitation hospital in Houston to address possible substance and psychological issues, multiple media outlets reported Monday.

Beasley, who last year was hit with a $50,000 fine stemming from an incident at the NBA’s annual rookie orientation, checked into an unidentified facility this past weekend, the reports said, citing unnamed sources.

A photo of the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA draft was posted Friday to his Twitter account, in which Beasley is displaying a new tattoo across his shoulders.

That image also captured what appeared to be a small plastic bag on an adjacent table, the contents of which were unclear.

Details are sketchy, as they probably should be in this situation. There’s no reason to speculate, so I’ll just wish the young man the best of luck in getting the help that he needs.

How would the 2008 NBA Draft go if owners and GMs knew then what they know now?

Here’s my take…

#1 Chicago: Derrick Rose
The Bulls don’t want a mulligan. They are perfectly happy with their franchise point guard.

#2 Miami: Brook Lopez
Michael Beasley isn’t a bust, no matter what anyone says. But if the Heat had it all to do over again, they’d go with Lopez here, who posted 13.0 points and 8.1 rebounds in about 31 minutes of playing time.

#3 Minnesota: O.J. Mayo
I don’t think the T-Wolves would do anything differently. They’d still draft Mayo and trade with Memphis for Love. Why not?

#4 Seattle/OKC: Russell Westbrook
Likewise, the Thunder have to be happy with what they have in Westbrook, who averaged 20.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists in February.

Read the rest of this entry »

The short answer is…maybe.

Have you noticed how all of this LeBron-to-the-Knicks talk has died down as the Cavs put up the best record in the NBA this season? That’s because Cleveland is a favorite to make the Finals, and with the way the Lakers are struggling against the Rockets out West, the Cavs are looking more and more like an NBA champion. If they do manage to win a title this year (or next), it will be very difficult for LeBron to jump ship without looking like a total a-hole. So he won’t. If he wins a ring, he’ll stay in Cleveland.

So the Knicks will have to look elsewhere for their superstar — enter Dwyane Wade. As Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel writes, the Big Apple would be an attractive destination for Wade.

The Knicks have the money. They have the allure. They have coach Mike D’Antoni’s fun style. They can tell Wade he would revive Knicks basketball and get the kind of spotlight only New York offers such stars. Who wouldn’t be tempted by all that?

So Hyde advocates that instead of waiting for 2010 and trying to add a star big man like Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire while at the same time re-signing Wade, the Heat should go ahead and trade Michael Beasley to Toronto for Bosh this summer.

So there’s the Armageddon scenario for the Heat: It advances only slightly next year, misses on Bosh, has the Knicks singing a siren song to Wade … and loses him.

If you’re Riley, do you risk that? All for Beasley, who, much as I like him, posed as many questions as answers this season? Even Wade, who measures his words, allowed as to how Beasley frustrated him at times with the immaturity.

The best way to sign Wade this summer is to offer concrete evidence he can win big here. That means landing his friend, Bosh. They were Olympians together. They share the same agent. They respect each other greatly.

That’s why the smartest move to make is trading the salary-matching pair of Beasley and Mark Blount to Toronto for Bosh.

It’s an attractive scenario to wait until 2010 and add Bosh to a lineup that includes Wade and Beasley. But there’s a good chance that Bosh could sign with Cleveland or that the Knicks could come in and steal both Bosh and Wade away from the Heat. Why risk a future with Wade for the promise of Beasley? While it sounds a little crazy to trade a young player with a ton of upside for a guy you might be able to sign outright the next summer, it’s risk versus reward. A Wade/Bosh combo would guarantee the Heat would compete in the East for the next five years. Throw in the steady Udonis Haslem, a more mature Mario Chalmers and a small forward to be named later, and Heat would have a nice lineup. But the biggest reason the Heat should acquire Bosh is that it will almost guarantee that Wade re-ups as well.

Now the question is — will the Raptors go for it?

Rookies Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers were fined before the season by the NBA and during the season by the Heat for breaking team rules.

The number of fines not only caught the attention of Heat President Pat Riley, but had team staffers addressing the rookies during the season about the penalties that were subtracted from their paychecks.

Spoelstra said none of the fines was for missing practice or showing up late for such sessions, declining to go into detail about the volume or specifics.

“In terms of your actual practice time, [Beasley] wouldn’t miss practice, he was never late for practice, he wouldn’t miss a turn in practice,” the first-year coach said. “And once you get out there and get him on the practice floor, he’ll work for you, he’ll drill for you, he’s coachable.

“It’s all the other things behind the scenes. That’s part of maturing.”

Beasley acknowledged work remains.

“When it comes to playing and it comes to game time and doing my job, I’m always on time, I’m professional,” he said. “There’s some stuff I’ve still got to work on.”

I don’t know whether or not it is deserved, but Beasley already has a little bit of a bad rep when it comes to his attitude. Bill Simmons had some harsh words for Beasley, though I doubt he attended any Heat practices or has ever met the rookie.

[Discussing Jason Thompson] You know, if Michael Beasley wasn’t such a colossal disappointment and semi-fraud, the 2008 draft could have ranked among the best ever.

[Discussing Jeff Green] Great teammate, tough as nails, gives a crap, does whatever you need. He’s the anti-Beasley.

These words prompted me to ask, “What kind of rookie season is Michael Beasley having?” back in February. Statistically, his rookie season was pretty solid, so whatever reputation he’s building has to do with the qualitative aspects of the game. It’s going to be interesting to see how he progresses in his second season.

One thing that struck me about Bill Simmons’ trade value column was his unabashed hatred for Michael Beasley’s game. He made three separate references to the rookie:

Jason Thompson: I mocked him on draft day and he shoved it in my face like a cream pie. Top-notch energy guy, good defender, lots to like. You know, if Michael Beasley wasn’t such a colossal disappointment and semi-fraud, the 2008 draft could have ranked among the best ever (and certainly superior to the more ballyhooed ‘07 class).

Colossal disappointment? Semi-fraud? Ouch.

Jeff Green: Great teammate, tough as nails, gives a crap, does whatever you need. He’s the anti-Beasley.

So Simmons is saying that Beasley is not a good teammate, isn’t tough, doesn’t give a crap and won’t do whatever you need? Ouch.

You have to love a country where Love’s best rookie card (Upper Deck’s ‘09 SPX set, the signed autographed jersey card) goes for one-eighth the money of Beasley’s card … and yet, Miami could offer Beasley for Love right now and Minnesota would make a face and hang up. Whatever.

Ouch.

All right, so how is Beasley faring this season? Here are his numbers:

The trade deadline is Thursday, and trade talk is really heating up. Marc Stein gives us the latest.

Two rival executives we spoke with Sunday night immediately wondered whether the Suns’ decision to replace Terry Porter with Alvin Gentry would convince Phoenix to “tap the brakes,” as one put it, on its Stoudemire talks. If the Suns are going to try to recapture a semblance of what they had under Mike D’Antoni, with the only holdover from D’Antoni’s staff taking over, you can understand why Gentry would prefer to have Stoudemire for the rest of the season to help the cause.

Stoudemire is still under contract for another season, so it wouldn’t hurt the Suns if they wanted to see what Gentry could do with this group before moving their star player over the summer. I’d say that the Porter firing makes it more likely that Stoudemire stays put, though I’d still put the chances at better than 50/50 that Amare is moved before the trade deadline.

Yahoo! Sports has an update on the Amare Stoudemire trade talks.

The proposed multiplayer trade is fluid, but the framework would include the Suns receiving a package that includes Miami forward Shawn Marion and Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay. Miami would send rookie Michael Beasley to the Grizzlies.

“Miami knows that they can’t get this done directly with Phoenix,� one league executive said. “The big thing is that they know the Suns like Gay.�

Miami apparently has to get the Grizzlies involved because the Suns aren’t all that high on Beasley, but they do like Gay. So Phoenix would get Marion (cap relief) and Gay (young star), while Stoudemire would go to the Heat and Beasley to the Grizzlies.