Report: Malik Beasley drawing interest from several contenders

Malik Beasley is drawing interest from several teams as a free agent, which could lead to him leaving the Los Angeles Lakers for another contender.

The Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors are among the teams being linked to the 26-year-old guard.

“Lakers free agent guard Malik Beasley has drawn interest from the [Philadelphia] Sixers, Suns, [Toronto] Raptors, Mavericks, [Milwaukee] Bucks, and Warriors, league sources told HoopsHype,” wrote NBA insider Michael Scotto. “Beasley led the NBA in three-pointers made off the bench last season and is a career 37.8 percent shooter from beyond the arc.”

The Lakers have already had a big offseason by retaining Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. They have also added Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes while keeping D’Angelo Russell. Those moves might be making Beasley somewhat expendable for Los Angeles.

The Lakers’ success since free agency began is pleasing LeBron James, who took the time to post some pictures of his new and returning teammates to social media.

Beasley did not play much during L.A.’s run to the 2023 Western Conference Finals, averaging about eight minutes per game in his 11 playoff appearances while scoring just a few points per contest. He was much better during the regular season, averaging almost 24 minutes and 11.1 points per game in 26 outings after he came over from the Utah Jazz.

Reaves agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract to re-sign with the Lakers, who earlier this offseason were fearing he might receive an offer sheet of up to $100 million. Hachimura, who was also a restricted free agent, agreed to a three-year, $51 million deal to stay, and Russell, an unrestricted free agent, is coming back after agreeing to a two-year, $37 million contract.

The Lakers are basically now set to run it back with many of the same players who rallied late in the 2022-23 season to get the team to the play-in round before making a run to the Western Conference Finals.

When the 2023-24 season begins, Los Angeles is likely to face increased competition from teams like the Suns (who recently added Bradley Beal), Mavericks (who are re-signing Kyrie Irving) and Warriors (who recently added Chris Paul and are keeping Draymond Green).

The Lakers did seem to find a formula that worked under first-year head coach Darvin Ham, and with a talented young group now in place around James and Anthony Davis, improvement seems likely.