Of Course The Lakers Signed Michael Beasley

In a move that is both delightfully absurd and absolutely no surprise, the Los Angeles Lakers signed free-agent forward Michael Beasley today. It’s delightfully absurd because everything about Beasley—his mystic wisdom master personality, his microwave offense and avant-garde approach to defense—is kind of absurd, and it’s no surprise because the Lakers’ post-LeBron activity has been headlined by the signings of Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, and Lance Stephenson. Like his three fellow free-agent signings, Beasley has outplayed his reputation as a vacant chowderhead, and he’s been actually pretty useful of late as an all-offense combo forward off the bench. Like his fellow free-agent signings, the first thing most fans think of when they think of Beasley is his chowderheadedness.

L.A.’s a bit short on wing depth, especially if LeBron actually plays some center here and there, which makes Beasley a fine signing at what is almost certainly a pretty affordable price. At this point in his career, nobody expects him to do anything but than get buckets, but that is something he can do extremely well; he’s even established himself as a good three-point shooter over the past two seasons with Milwaukee and New York. More importantly, Beasley has calmed down enough to no longer be considered a complete headcase. He might even help teach young guys like Brandon Ingram a thing or two, like how to use 11 percent of your brain.

It definitely seems like the Lakers are running out of journeyman oddballs to redeem, but please bear in mind that the team has not yet given Andray Blatche a call.