The unbearable sadness of being Mike Beasley is apparently back. Or maybe it never left, even after he spent nearly a month in rehab for pot-scented depression issues. Or maybe he's just passing out stay-in-school advice while Ira Winderman makes connections out of spiderwebs.
But that looks doubtful:
After this past season, when asked about Michael Beasley’s future with the team, a leading Heat veteran said he sensed Beasley did not want to be here anymore. He didn’t say that Michael told him that, only that he sensed Beasley was not happy.
Then, Saturday, the Topeka Capital-Journal posted a story about Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen and his decision to bypass early entry for Thursday’s NBA Draft. Two quotes from the Wildcats guard particularly resonated.
First: “I talked to Mike. The two weeks right before the draft deadline, Mike spent out in Kansas. We talked and he said if he could re-do everything, he’d have stayed all four years...
“He said to think about it and not just worry about the money. Think about the experiences you want to be part of, because once you make that decision it’s your life. It’s a job. It’s not fun anymore.”
Not fun? Hey, join the club "adulthood." But Beasley, who may have had the goods to make the NBA early, has shown he wasn't at all equipped for its responsibilities, its work ethic, its temptations, and the considerable criticism that comes with millions of dollars, a spotlight, and every misstep.
In all likelihood, after two rocky years with the Heat, the poor kid would probably choose to return all the way to the womb, where it's nice and warm and Twitter doesn't exist.
So this is the part where we wonder how deep this unhapiness goes, and if Beasley, who obviously needed mental and emotional intervention more than drug rehab, is getting enough psychological support.
Oh, and where we're really, really glad we aren't the Heat, who must decide what to do, if anything, with their sad little boy.
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Beasley no doubt feels a fresh start would be beneficial, and the Heat would probably agree on principle. But since they'd get so little for him in a trade, the front office has to figure out if his unhappiness is with his status as an adult with responsibilities in the NBA, period, or with Miami in particular.
One assumes he'll eventually grow out of the former. The latter, well, that'll affect the play of anyone who's not yet capable of compartmentalizing as a professional, or making choices that benefit his career rather than pursue whatever today's definition of "fun" is. Considering he left K-State too early in the first place, he'd certainly fit in that category, and it's one more reason no one is out there envying the Heat for having drafted him.
Janie Campbell is a Florida native who believes in the pro-set and ballpark hot dogs. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.
