Boston Celtics Draft Profile: Malik Beasley

Here’s a look at Malik Beasley

The 2016 NBA Draft is next week and the Boston Celtics have a league high eight draft picks, and of those eight, three of them are in the first round. Knowing Danny Ainge, I would not be surprised if they do not have all of those picks when June 23 arrives because he is not one that shies away from big moves. However, if the Celtics do use all of their first round picks, one interesting mid-first round prospect is Malik Beasley.

Entering his freshman year at Florida State, there was not a ton of buzz surrounding Beasley. All of the hype was around his highly recruited teammate Dwayne Bacon, who put up nearly identical numbers to Beasley, but generated much more hype. By the end of the season, Beasley had forced the spotlight on himself, and is now getting ready to make the leap to the NBA, becoming the first ever one and done in Florida State basketball history.

After averaging 15.6 points, 1.5 assists, and 5.3 rebounds in his only season at Florida State, many NBA scouts are high on him and think he could potentially be a late lottery pick. However, if he falls outside of the lottery, the Celtics should select him with the 16th overall pick in the draft.

Malik Beasley is an intriguing prospect in this year’s NBA Draft because he has displayed many strengths in his game which could allow him to thrive in the NBA for many years. Beasley is incredibly athletic, and could be the most explosive off guard in his draft class. His athleticism paired with his speed makes him a transition nightmare, and it is incredibly difficult to stop him from dunking over defenders in the fast break.

Transition isn’t the only way Beasley can beat teams offensively, though. Once the offense is set up defenses cannot leave him open at all because he is a sharpshooter from virtually anywhere on the floor. In his only season in college, he had an impressive shooting percentage of 47.1%. Beasley is much better in catch and shoot situations as opposed to creating his own shot off the dribble. In his 34 games at Florida State last season, he made a total of 55 threes and shot an impressive 38.7 percent from deep.

Beasley is such an impressive offensive prospect, and the advanced statistics continue to tell that tale as well. His great shooting efficiency is shown in his impressive true shooting percentage, a statistic that is similar to shooting percentage but is adjusted for three pointers and free throws. In 2016, Beasley’s true shooting percentage was 58.3 percent, which is well above the average of 50 percent.

He also produced 2.9 offensive win shares for his team last season, which was the most on his team by a lot. His 2.9 offensive win shares means that he was able to produce approximately 3 wins for the Seminoles due to his offensive ability. This is even more impressive considering Florida State only won 20 games, so Beasley’s offense produced about 14.5% of their wins alone.

Although he was a stud offensively, his game is far from perfect. Beasley is definitely not going to be a play maker for any team that drafts him. In college, he only averaged 1.5 assists. When he gets the ball, he really only passes to swing the ball, and never really looks for slashers or open outside shooters.

Also, it is very rare for him to drive the ball into the paint and score at the rim which was highlighted by his 3.8 free throw attempts per game average last year. On the offensive side of the ball Beasley is mostly going to be a catch and shoot guy, but that is a weakness the Celtics have right now so he would have a nice role on this team.

Malik Beasley was more well known for his offensive game in college, but he is a good defender as well. He is slightly undersized at 6’4’’ and 190 pounds, but that doesn’t stop him from being effective on that side of the ball. Beasley’s best defensive attribute isn’t his athleticism (although it certainly helps), it’s the fact that he is a willing defender who will put in the effort.

More from Hardwood Houdini

This is such an underrated characteristic amongst players in the NBA because there are many guys in the league that loathe playing defense and that can really hurt their team. Celtics coach Brad Stevens loves players like this because his game plans are centered around effort and if his players aren’t putting any effort into their defense, they won’t be on the court too much.

Beasley also put up some good defensive statistics as well. On the Seminoles last season, he was barely second on the team in defensive win shares at 1.1 (Dwayne Bacon beat him by .1). This means that Beasley’s work on defense produced 1.1 wins for his team. He was also a very good rebounder for his size a season ago.

Beasley was able to grab approximately 10.1% of all of the available rebounds while he was on the court. He averaged 5.3 rebounds per game, which is the second highest average on the team, while he was only the 10th tallest player on the roster. If his rebounding numbers can remotely translate to the NBA level he will be a very scary matchup for just about any guard in the league today.

Next: What's Going On With Kris Dunn?

Malik Beasley would be a very good fit for the Boston Celtics. He would be able to provide them with plenty of outside shooting which is a huge need the Celtics must address this offseason. Beasley is also a solid defender which is huge for the Celtics because that is where they pride themselves. He would also be able to provide them with the added bonus of rebounding at the guard position, which is something that this team is lacking right now. Beasley is one of the few prospects in this year’s draft that already has a high floor and his ceiling is even higher.

Home/Celtics News