“Opposite of the presumption of innocence”
NBA sharpshooter Malik Beasley is reportedly no longer under a federal gambling investigation, opening the door for him to sign with a team after missing out on the prime lucrative free agent period. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Beasley’s attorneys Steve Haney and Mike Schachter said that after “extensive” talks with the Eastern District of New York, they were told their client is no longer a target of the probe.
Though this is good news for Beasley, he and his lawyers are far from content.
should never have the catastrophic consequence this has caused Malik”
“An allegation with no charge, indictment or conviction should never have the catastrophic consequence this has caused Malik. This has literally been the opposite of the presumption of innocence,” Haney told ESPN.
Suspicious prop bet volume
Charania and his ESPN colleague David Purdum broke the news of the Beasley investigation in June. According to their sources, sportsbooks flagged unusual betting activity on Beasley prop bets starting in January 2024.
While there may have been multiple games under the microscope, the one that has been made public was on January 31, 2024, when Beasley was on the Milwaukee Bucks. Shortly before the game, the activity on him going under the 2.5-rebound prop bet spiked, moving the line from +120 to -250. Interestingly, he ended up crashing through that line and snagging six boards, causing everybody who bet against him to lose their bets.
possible contracts evaporated
Beasley had a fantastic season with the Detroit Pistons this past year, setting a franchise record with 391 three pointers, good for second in the league. He was reportedly close to signing a three-year, $42m contract with Detroit, but when the news of the investigation came out, that and any other possible contracts evaporated.
While Beasley will probably catch on with a team, he will not come close to what he could have made, as most teams are all set with their free agent signings. With the way NBA salary caps work, the most he could re-sign with the Pistons for is one year, $7.2m.
Financial troubles
The other fallout for Beasley resulting from the gambling investigation is that journalists dug up further dirt on his financial situation, and it isn’t good. The Detroit News reported that he was successfully sued in 2022 by South River Capital, a company that loans money to athletes, for $5.8m. He has paid some of that back.
The David Stott Building, a luxury apartment building in Detroit, sued Beasley twice in 2025 for more than $21,000 in unpaid rent. He was evicted this summer.
In January, two businesses won judgments against Beasley: a celebrity barbershop in Milwaukee for $26,827 and a suburban Milwaukee dentist for $34,390.
