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Tim good morningESPN
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 unpaid games after pleading guilty to a felony of threatening violence as a result of an incident in September, the NBA said Thursday.
“As an organization, we fully support today’s NBA decision,” Gersson Rosas, president of Timberwolves basketball operations, said in a statement shortly after announcing the suspension. “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 Saturday, when the Timberwolves are in Washington to play the Wizards. He will be able to return to the court on March 27, when Minnesota will host the Houston Rockets.
The suspension will cost the guard $ 1.1 million.
Beasley struck a deal with prosecutors earlier this month that dropped drug charges against him in exchange for a guilty plea. As a result, Beasley was sentenced to 120 days in prison, which could be served at the county workhouse or internment, after the NBA season ended 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 later. that the petition was agreed to 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 reported arms crime. The individuals who reported it informed officers that they had stopped their car in front of the house and a “suspect approached their vehicle, touched the window of the vehicle, pointed a gun at them and advised them to get out of the property “.
“As the victims walked away, the suspect was observed holding the gun to his shoulder, pointing it 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. Three people in the car were arrested and later released. A man, who identified himself as the owner, was outside and calling officers.
Officers obtained a search warrant from 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. It has been one of the few bright spots of an otherwise horrible season for Minnesota, averaging 20.5 points per game and 40% from the 3-point distance.
The Timberwolves are the worst 7-26 in the league and have lost six games in a row and 10 of their last 11 games. They haven’t won two games in a row since the first two games of the season. The team fired coach Ryan Saunders after Sunday night’s 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.
This report uses information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks.