
Free agent sharpshooter Malik Beasley, whose NBA future remains in limbo, is joining the Cangrejeros de Santurce in Puerto Rico, according to Shams Charania of ESPN ( Twitter link). The club has announced its deal with Beasley on social media (Instagram link).
As Charania notes, the team is owned by Bad Bunny, the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican recording artist who headlined the Super Bowl halftime show last Sunday. The Cangrejeros de Santurce compete in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). The league’s 2026 season will tip off next month.
A nine-year NBA veteran, Beasley had arguably the best year of his career in 2024/25, averaging 16.3 points per game and finishing second in the NBA in total three-pointers (319). He appeared in all 82 games and finished as the Sixth Man of the Year runner-up for a Pistons team that improved its record by 30 wins and snapped a five-year playoff drought.
However, Beasley has been in a holding pattern since the 2025 offseason while federal investigators and the NBA look into a possible connection to illegal betting activity. Unlike Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter, who were investigated as part of the same general probe, Beasley hasn’t been arrested by law enforcement or disciplined by the NBA in any way, but he remains in limbo while he waits for those investigations to wrap up.
The 29-year-old was said to be closing in on a three-year, $42MM contract with the Pistons last summer before news broke that he was linked to the federal investigation into illegal gambling.
Beasley has reportedly drawn interest from teams in Europe and China while waiting to be cleared by the NBA, but Charania suggests (via Twitter) that the guard/forward remain closer to home and use his stint in Puerto Rico as a showcase ahead of 2026 free agency while he awaits closure on the NBA’s investigation.
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