Mar 3, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley (5) reacts to a play against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

NBA Writer Makes Promising Prediction on Pistons Sharpshooter

Originally posted on Detroit Pistons on SI
By Justin Grasso | Last updated Jun 19, 2025 5:48 PM ET

It would take a lot for a player to hit the podium and admit he doesn’t want to return to his team in free agency. Typically, players publicly display a desire to return to their current teams, while mentioning that the business side will have to be taken care of. For Malik Beasley, the way he expressed his interest in returning to the Detroit Pistons was different.

“In my whole 9 years in the NBA, I never had as much fun coming to the gym,” Beasley told reporters at the end of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. “I’ve been through a lot of stuff just this year alone. Every day coming in was probably the best thing that happened to me. It’s definitely a place I want to be.”

After such a strong season, the Pistons have been reportedly planning to pitch a return to Detroit for Beasley. As the Pistons don’t anticipate making many changes at the moment, Beasley could end up becoming their most notable free agent acquisition this summer.

In a recent rundown of free agency predictions put together by Bleacher Report, it’s assumed that Beasley could end up back on the Pistons next season.

“Detroit must decide on a path forward, after making the playoffs with Beasley averaging 16.3 points a game on 41.6 percent from deep. Can the franchise steal a high-impact big man by going under the salary cap? That answer should determine Beasley's price. Unless another team offers the NTMLE, the most the Pistons can pay may be the RMLE,” Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus writes.

The prediction? "Beasley returns to Detroit, via the NTMLE or at $7.2 million via his rights (or RMLE if the team opens cap room via trade and lands a name)."

After spending a season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Beasley signed with the Pistons for just $6 million. As the 2024-2025 NBA season played out, it was clear that the veteran sharpshooter was on one of the best value contracts in the league.

At the end of the year, Beasley was named a finalist for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. While he lost out to Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, Beasley strongly believed he was the top player off the bench in the NBA last season, and the Pistons were certainly happy to have him in the mix.

A lot can change by the time early July rolls around, but the Pistons will get a chance to talk to Beasley early. Other teams might want to make a pitch to the veteran sharpshooter, but most predict that Beasley will be back in action with the Pistons next year.