The Detroit Pistons signed their second player in the 2024 NBA free agency class under new president Trajan Langdon, signing Malik Beasley to a one-year, $6 million-plus contract. His agency It was confirmed Saturday morning.
Beasley, 27, started 77 of 79 games last season after signing with Milwaukee on the veteran minimum wage, averaging 41.3 percent shooting on 6.9 3-pointers per game. He played in the NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest, making 224 3-pointers on 542 attempts, marking the third consecutive season in which he made at least 224 3-pointers.
His 224 three-pointers made last season were 11th in the NBA and his 2.8 made per game were 15th.
Beasley, an undersized shooting guard at 6-foot-4 and 187 pounds, averaged 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game last season.
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The one-year deal means a playoff contender in need of shooting could look favorably on the deal and, assuming Beasley remains healthy and performs well, he could potentially sign with the Pistons before the trade deadline in February.
Beasley graduated from Florida State University and was selected 19th overall by Denver in the 2016 draft. He also played for Minnesota, Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers. He has a career 38.5% three-point shooting percentage in eight seasons.
Beasley becomes the third high shooter the Pistons have acquired this offseason to back up point guard Cade Cunningham, after acquiring Tim Hardaway Jr. in a pay-cut deal from Dallas and agreeing to a two-year, $52 million deal with forward Tobias Harris.
The Pistons were one of the worst teams in the NBA at 3-point shooting last season, ranking 29th in made attempts per game (11), 27th in attempts (31.7) and 26th in accuracy (34.8%).
The Pistons entered Saturday with about $25 million in cap space, plus another $8 million to use if the remaining space is filled. They also have Bird Rights to sign restricted free agent forward Simone Fontecchio and can re-sign him over the cap after using up their cap space.
The Pistons entered free agency Sunday night with about $51 million in cap space, the second-most in the NBA behind the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers agreed to a four-year, $212 million max contract with Paul George on Monday night, giving the Pistons the most cash available before signing Harris.
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It continues to be a busy week of free agency for the Pistons. On Sunday morning, the Pistons agreed to terms with JB Bickerstaff to become the team's new head coach. Then, on Sunday night, the Free Press confirmed that the Pistons intend to sign Cunningham to a maximum contract extension worth $226 million, which won't become official until noon on Saturday.
The Pistons acquired forwards Ron Holland and Bobbi Klintman in last week's NBA draft.
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