NBA free agent Malik Beasley is currently the subject of a federal investigation into gambling, prop bets, and wire fraud. As a result, the Detroit Pistons have reportedly withdrawn a three-year, $42 million contract offer to their top three-point shooter. Beasley could have really used the money, judging by the grim financial picture painted by The Detroit News in a report published Tuesday.
Court records accessed by the News show that Beasley has been sued by a variety of parties. In order of severity:
- A company called South River Capital, LLC, which lends money to athletes, won a $5.8 million judgment against Beasley in 2022.
- The marketing firm Hazan Sports Management Group, Inc., is suing him for $2.25 million for alleged breach of contract. The company claims Beasley was given a $650,000 cash advance against future marketing revenue and never paid it back. He was served a copy of the lawsuit during the Pistons' first-round playoff series against the Knicks.
- This past January, Wisconsin dentist Hassan Alshehabi won a $34,390 judgment against Beasley. Alshehabi, who owns a dental practice called Delicate Smiles, garnished Beasley's NBA paychecks beginning in February.
- Also this past January, a celebrity barbershop in Milwaukee called Cairo Cuts won a $26,827 judgment against Beasley.
- In March, Beasley was sued by a Detroit high-rise apartment building, The Stott, for $14,150 in unpaid rent. The lawsuit was dismissed, but he was sued again in May for $7,355 in rent, with a hearing scheduled for July.
In the meantime, the Pistons satisfied their shooting needs on Tuesday by picking up Duncan Robinson in a sign-and-trade. Beasley clearly has larger financial amounts to worry about right now, but there's something about owing five figures to a dentist doing business as "Delicate Smiles" that really adds indignity on top of investigation.
