Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Rewind: Profiling current role players
Malik Beasley
Drafted: 2016, No. 19 Overall
NBA Comparison: Wesley Matthews
NBA Outlook Analysis
Malik Beasley was seen as having incredible energy and effort when he is on the floor while establishing himself as a gifted scorer. His shooting form was fantastic and he was a sharpshooter in college. Beasley was, and still is, undersized, but the elevation on his jumper allowed him to get it off with relative ease over collegiate competition.
Malik’s game certainly needed improvement coming into the pros, especially in the playmaking and defensive departments. Beasley was seen as a good cutter but didn’t do much damage off the dribble, and his defense was a bit suspect.
Beasley & Matthews Comparison
For being an undrafted rookie, Wesley Matthews has made quite an NBA career out for himself as he’s currently in his 10th season. Meanwhile, Malik Beasley was taken No. 19 by Denver and was being compared to Matthews due to their unrelenting effort and shooting.
Through his first four seasons, Matthews started in 239 of the 299 games he played in. He put up 13.4 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in those four seasons while hitting 39.5 percent from deep.
Beasley hasn’t seen the court as much as Matthews did during his first four seasons. Malik has put in 8.4 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in his career to this point.
Evaluation of Player Comparison
Matthews has had an incredible career to this point, even as he’s suffered a devastating Achilles tear right when he was entering his prime years as a player. Wesley has still produced at a high level after the injury and has started all 62 games for the Milwaukee Bucks this season.
Beasley’s career didn’t necessarily start as smooth as Matthews’. He has, however, appeared to find a home in Minnesota and looks to have solidified himself as a starter heading into the future, depending on what happens in restricted free agency.
Beasley has been a lights-out shooter throughout his career. His biggest knock has always been his defense, though, and it still continues to be a problem.
Matthews is a really good offensive player, but his calling card has always been his defense. Until Beasley can play defense consistently at least league average he will continue to fall short of Matthews as a player. Luckily for Malik he will have all the opportunity in the world to improve his overall game.