Michael Beasley Makes Bold Claim About Knicks Run

A former New York Knick is claiming that Manhattanites never got a chance to truly like Mike.

Brief Knick Michael Beasley appeared on the Club520 Podcast to discuss his rollercoaster NBA career, one that began as the second overall pick of the 2008 draft. He would later spend one season in New York, putting up 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds a game. To date, it’s the penultimate season of his Association tenure, as he’d spend one more year with the Los Angeles Lakers before taking his game to China and Puerto Rico.

Despite its brevity, Beasley’s Knicks tenure developed a slight cult following, as he was a bright spot in a dire season that saw New York muster only 29 wins. Beasley remarked to hosts Bishop B Henn, Jeff Teague, and DJ Wells his belief that he could’ve gotten New York to a playoff spot if he was trusted further.

“With (Kristaps) Porzingis, Tim Hardaway, and Courtney Lee, I could’ve made that a playoff team,” Beasley said.

Inspired by words from associate head coach Kurt Rambis, Beasley put up some downright historical performances for the Knicks: for example, he became the first player in NBA history to have a 32-point, 12-rebound game when coming off the bench since starts were first recorded in 1970-71. In his final 62 appearances, Beasley averaged 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds.

All that and more, Beasley claimed, came as the Knicks were “playing (him) out of position,” a concept that stretched beyond New York but supposedly bit it as it made a futile run at the eighth and final playoff spot.

“Everyone played me as a four because of college,” the Kansas State alum said, labeling that the Knicks’ aura was “trash” in the midst of a lengthy postseason drought. “If you play me at the one, two, three, I’m bigger, I’m better, I got somebody to play pick-and-roll with. I could’ve f***ed the pick-and-roll game with Kyle O’Quinn and Kristaps Porzingis.”

At 29-53, the Knicks finished 14 games behind Washington for the eighth and final NBA playoff spot that season. Beasley left after that season and head coach Jeff Hornacek was soon to follow, as he was let go in favor of David Fizdale over the offseason. New York endured two more seasons of drudgery before the arrival of Tom Thibodeau, who helped place the franchise on its present course with the assistance of Julius Randle’s breakout and Jalen Brunson’s signing.

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