Michael Beasley isn't buying into the critics.
During a Monday conference call with reporters, the Lakers forward defended his new team's roster overhaul and expressed his excitement about the prospect of being part of a winning organization.
“If everybody does their job right and stops judging some players — me, mainly — you’ll figure out that guys like me and Nick Young and JR Smith and Lance Stephenson and guys like that actually know how to play basketball, actually know how to win basketball games and actually know how to get along with others. It’s nothing to do with my maturity; it’s the total opposite,” Beasley said, via the Los Angeles Times .
“For that to be even be a narrative of personalities in this room is judgment enough for me. I just don’t want to be a part of it.”
Beasley, who chose the Lakers over the Thunder, agreed last week to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. While LeBron James' mega-signing was a factor in his decision, Beasley thinks the four-time MVP will have a strong support system after the Lakers also added JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson.
“It’s going to come together like a basketball team,” Beasley said. “You’ve got 14 guys other than LeBron James that know how to play basketball. … We’re gonna help LeBron just as much as LeBron helps us.”
Beasley, 29, averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds with the Knicks last season. Despite his troubled past, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2008 draft hasn’t had any issues off the court in recent years and is expected to be a key contribution in Los Angeles next season.
