Malik Beasley agreed to a four-year extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday to the tune of $60 million. As it turns out, the Timberwolves really, really wanted to keep Beasley on board, and they pretty much pulled out all the stops to convince the 23-year-old to stay in Minnesota.
According to Michael Scotto of USA TODAY SPORTS, Beasley pretty much had the Wolves brass jumping through hoops:
Minnesota came into their meeting with Beasley determined to close a deal. The Timberwolves rented a house on the water and brought Beasley’s chef to cook dinner for everyone.
Timberwolves brass on hand included general manager Gersson Rosas, coach Ryan Saunders, assistant general manager Joe Branch, and others, league sources told HoopsHype.
The team showed video highlights of Beasley during his time with the team, messages from Twins star Nelson Cruz, local business owners, customized Vikings jerseys, newspaper cutouts, and more. It left an imprint on Beasley, as well as Rosas and the organization publicly supporting him during his legal situation.
That was quite a show, and one that certainly made its mark on Beasley. So much so, that he decided to say no to reported offers from the New York Knicks and the Milwaukee Bucks in order to stay with the Timberwolves.
Beasley was charged with felony weapons and drug charges back a couple of weeks ago, but as the report above states, the Wolves have stood behind the 6-foot-4 shooting guard.
Beasley arrived in Minnesota in February as part of a multi-team trade deal. In 14 games played for the Timberwolves, he averaged 20.7 points (on 47.2 percent shooting), 5.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, while also connecting on 3.5 triples per game on a very impressive 42.6-percent clip.
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