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Jan. 8, 2010; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Miami Heat forward (30) Michael Beasley against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. Miami defeated Phoenix 109-105. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Michael Beasley Reflects On Where He Went Wrong

Originally posted on Miami Heat on SI | By Alex Toledo | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 10:52 AM ET

Michael Beasley, the No. 2 pick in the 2008 Draft by the Miami Heat and most recently, the MVP of the Big 3 league, continues to be one of the most beloved players by NBA fans. Recently, the 11-year veteran went on All The Smoke, hosted by former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, where he addressed his first stint with the Heat and where things went south for him.

"I said on my maturation process, one thing I've learned, right? Everything that happened to you, good and bad, you are the common denominator. Every time you take credit for the good, when it don't fall, you got to take credit for that, too, and that's hard for people," Beasley said. "So whether it was your fault or not, you got to understand what you did wrong. You got to understand what you could have done better. That's just how I look at my career. I don't blame no coaches. I used to blame Spo a lot, and the older I got, the more I realized, like, my rookie year was his rookie year, and just as scared as I was, he was probably more because he used to be the film guy, you understand?"

In his first two seasons with the Heat, Beasley averaged 14.3 points on 46 percent shooting from the field, converting 33.3 percent of his threes, 5.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals, but averaged more turnovers (1.6) then assists (1.2). Many times throughout that first stint with the Heat, Beasley would start the game but then end up not closing, with Udonis Haslem often earning that spot.

"I come under Frank Martin, right? I come under David Cox. I come under real 'I put my foot in your ass' coaches, so it could have been SpongeBob in that head coach spot and I respected it, because it was head coach. I was scared of it. So I was more scared of Spo than I think he wanted to believe. I didn't know how to display my frustration in any other way but anger, because it would just blow up."

"D-Wade, now man I got memories with D-Wade that that I fall asleep to, same thing with [Udonis Haslem], the reason I can walk around Miami the way I can walk around Miami today. So, like, it's things they taught me that, it just was necessary, I was just too young. I came into Miami at 19. I wasn't supposed to be outside in y'all clubs, I wasn't 21. Every club in Miami was supposed to be turning me down," Beasley said. "I went out in Vegas and bro, I went out with D-Wade, (bleeping) Kobe [Bryant], Dwight Howard, and I'm sitting at the door and they're like, 'Beas, we know who you are. No.' They turned me down right behind Kobe. So it's like, Miami should have treated me the same way. That's hindsight almost protecting you from yourself, almost protecting me from myself."

"But at the same time, I was fighting Spo and then I wasn't ready for it. Pat Riley, bro I wasn't ready for him, and not in a bad way," Beasley continued. "Like, man, Pat treated me like a son and you know, like 'Come on, dad, don't kiss me in front of the guys. Come on, dad, I don't want to talk to you today.' But he made me sit in his office every (bleeping) week, whether I was listening or not, and I live by the morals he told me, but it's like I just, I was just 19, bro. I was 20, I was just, I had too much money for my age."

The Heat traded Beasley to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the summer of 2010, a few days after the Heat's big three of Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh was formed, in order to create the needed financial flexibility to sign them while also going after Haslem and Mike Miller.

Beasley ended up returning to the Heat in the 2013-2014 season, and then again in the second half of the 2014-2015 season, where he averaged 8.2 points on 47 percent shooting from the field and 3.3 rebounds in about 17 minutes per game