Minnesota Timberwolves baseman Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 unpaid games after pleading guilty to a felony of threatening violence as a result of an incident last September, the NBA announced Thursday in the evening.
“As an organization, we fully support today’s NBA decision,” said the Timberwolves’ basketball operations president. Gersson Roses, In a statement issued shortly after the suspension was announced. “As we work together with Malik to advance his development as a player and as a person, we look forward to seeing his growth.”
Beasley’s suspension will begin on Saturday, when the Timberwolves are in Washington to play against the Washington Wizards. He will be eligible to return to the court on March 27, when Minnesota hosts the Houston Rockets.
Beasley agreed to a guilty plea deal with prosecutors earlier this month in which charges for serious drug offenses against him were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea. As a result, Beasley was sentenced to 120 days in prison, which could be served in the county asylum or home confinement, after the NBA season ends in mid-May.
“We are very pleased with this result that will allow Malik to continue working to become a better person and make better decisions,” Beasley’s attorney Steven Haney said in a statement obtained by ESPN’s Mark Schlabach after the agreement was reached. statement earlier this month.
In a statement obtained by Schlabach last September, the Plymouth Police Department said officers were called to Beasley’s residence for a gun offense. Reporters told officers they had stopped their car in front of the house, and a “suspect approached his vehicle, hit the window, pointed a gun at them and advised them to leave the property.”
“While the victims were walking away, the suspect was observed holding the gun to his shoulder, aiming at his vehicle,” the police statement said.
Officers set up a perimeter to locate the individual and detected a strong smell of marijuana, according to the statement. A vehicle attempted to leave the property and was stopped by police. The three people in the car were arrested and then released. A man, who identified himself as the owner of the house, was outside calling the officers.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the property and located narcotics and numerous weapons, one of which was confirmed as stolen, police said.
Beasley was traded to Minnesota last February and signed a four-year, $ 60 million contract with the Timberwolves in the offseason. He has been one of the few bright points of a terrible season for Minnesota, averaging 20.5 points per game and hitting 40 percent from the three-point range.
The Timberwolves have a 7-26 record, the worst in the league, and have lost six games in a row, as well as 10 of their last 11 games. They haven’t won two games in a row since the first two of the season. The team fired the coach Ryan Saunders after the Sunday night loss to the New York Knicks, and hired Chris Finch, Who had been working for the Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach, as a permanent replacement for Saunders the next day.