clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Michael Beasley is gone. Why, God, why?

Unpacking the deal

Minnesota Timberwolves v Houston Rockets Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Michael Beasley has been traded, you may now freak out...

No words are more upsetting to see than those just written. The Houston Rockets decided to move on from maybe the team's second best scorer to bring in "depth" (Tyler Ennis).

I mean if you're on a raft drifting away in the ocean, drinking saltwater is the last resort, it's not something you do when you are just kinda thirsty (Ed. note: if you are on a raft drifting away in the ocean, please do not drink saltwater). I mean the shore could just be right around the corner.

Did the Rockets just figure that they absolutely can't go into the start of training camp with just Patrick Beverley and Pablo Prigioni?

I understand that 1-2 punch does not instill fear into the heart of your opponents, but you have James Harden, he's your main ball-handler anyways.

So here is the skinny on the deal. The door is now wide for the triumphant return of power forward/center Donatas Motiejunas.

Before the deal, it did seem that it would be hard to find appropriate minutes for both Motiejunas and Beasley, now that point is moot.

The move also means that operation #PointBeard might be in jeopardy. Harden will still minutes playing the point; he is the team's best ball handler. But as a primary position, it seems with three point guards, Harden opening the season playing point now seems far-fetched.

What the Rockets lost in the move was a guy in Beasley who is arguably the second-best scorer on the team. All season long the Rockets had a hard time putting points on the board, especially when Harden wasn't in the game. When Beasley came along, it started to ease things up just a touch, it wasn't sunshine and lollipops, but it wasn't just the Harden show anymore. The bench actually scored points and that was mainly because of Beasley.

In the offseason, the Rockets did add Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson so the need for Beasley's scoring this year would have been decreased, but it will still be missed.

Now about the point guard the Rockets picked up.

Ennis is actually someone a lot of mock drafts and insiders thought the Rockets would have taken back in the 2014 draft. Ennis ended up getting picked up before the Rockets picked. They then drafted Clint Capela and the rest is history.

Ennis since has kinda floated around and has not been much of a factor, but he still has a lot of talent. It's tough to see how he fits into the Rockets plans, but it's clear he has talent, and he's under contract for a couple of seasons. Maybe eventually, he can pan out but as of now, he's pretty much an unknown to the NBA.

Overall the move was made for two reasons, to give Motiejunas a role on the team when he comes back and fill the point guard depth.