Michael Beasley feels that he still has plenty to offer in basketball. In fact, he is in the process of making it back to the big league, even hiring a new agent in Charles Briscoe of Briscoe Sports Group in hopes of landing a deal with an NBA team again. Beasley talked about his past and plans for the future during a recent interview with HoopsHype in which he also revealed some heartbreaking details when he was still part of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Off the court, my mom died when I was playing for the Lakers. I fought through that, and I came back. My cousin died the game I forgot my shorts in Oklahoma. I was battling that day, trying to fight through it. I wanted to go to the funeral, but I was already gone when my mom died. I just wanted to be there for the team, and the whole world just laughed at me. My whole career, I’ve never been given a chance to show who I really am, how I can really play, show that I can really win and be somebody. The whole world laughed at me. It hurt my feelings. I’m not going to lie.

Beasley is indeed a talented player, but it can't also be denied that he's dealt with several issues on and off the court.

During his one season with the Lakers in the 2018-19 campaign, the former NBA second-round pick averaged just 7.0 points and 2.3 minutes, albeit in limited minutes — just 10.7 per contest. He also became a walking meme, with people on social media having fun at his expense, without knowing that he was going through a rough time. Beasley told HoopsHype that he did not reveal any of that, as he did not want to make it seem that he was using the death of his loved ones as an alibi.

My mom was going through cancer, maybe a year before she told the family. She was being strong. I was trying to be strong. I was trying to show her I could be tough. That sh*t was hard. I’m not going to lie. When it happened, it felt like an excuse. That’s why I never said anything. I thought it would die over (referring to the jokes about forgetting his shorts). That sh*t didn’t die. Every f*cking year that sh*t lived on. Even my close friends don’t even know. I let them have the joke because if it makes people happy, it makes people happy, rather than going around and making people sad.

Hopefully, the 33-year-old Beasley, whose stint with the Lakers was his most recent season in the NBA, will be able to find himself on an NBA roster soon in what could be one last shot at improving his basketball legacy.