The Cleveland Cavaliers are the current odds-on favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference ahead of the 2025-26 season.
They have one of the most complete rosters in the entire NBA, with a starting lineup consisting of All-Star talent and a deep bench with players capable of being starters on lesser teams.
But considering the injuries to key players Darius Garland, who expects to miss the start of the season, and Max Strus, who will miss roughly 40 games, it makes sense why they’re still checking in on current free agents.
Shams Charania of ESPN reports that the Cavaliers are still monitoring the market for free agent shooting guard Malik Beasley.
“They’re hopeful Darius Garland is back early in the regular season, but Max Strus is going to miss significant time. That’s why they’re monitoring and have interest in a free agent, that’s Malik Beasley,” reported Charania.
“He’s undergoing and still is in an ongoing NBA investigation, one month into the investigation, we’ll see if he’s cleared, he needs that NBA clearance to be able to sign with a team, either the Cavs or elsewhere.”
A Turbulent Offseason
Beasley was set to be one of the NBA’s most coveted free agents entering this past summer, until a federal gambling investigation put a freeze on his market.
The former Florida State Seminole was coming off a career year with the Detroit Pistons that saw him receive the second-most votes for the Sixth Man of the Year award, finishing just short of the Boston Celtics’ Payton Pritchard.
Beasley appeared in all 82 games for the first time in his career in 2024-25 and scored 16.3 points per game on 43% shooting from three-point range.
Detroit was prepared to offer the shooting guard a three-year $42 million contract to stay with the team, but the investigation threw a wrench in those plans.
The Pistons pivoted to former Miami Heat sharp-shooter Duncan Robinson, handing him a three-year $48 million deal that effectively replaced Beasley’s role in the rotation.
Now, with Beasley cleared of the federal investigation, all he awaits is the NBA to clear him, and he’s free to sign where he pleases.
Beasley’s Fit With the Cavaliers
Now that the free agent market is all but dried up, and most teams have used up their cap space ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season, Beasley will likely not have many options available to him.
When the federal investigation was formally closed in August, Jake Fischer of the Stein Line reported that there were a handful of teams interested in the three-point specialist.
The New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, and Minnesota Timberwolves were the aforementioned teams.
His best bet is likely a one-year prove-it deal with a contender, so he can re-establish his value and land a more lucrative, multi-year deal in the summer of 2026.
In Cleveland, he could immediately fill in for the injured Max Strus, who was one of the Cavs’ most prolific long-range shooters last season.
With the former Miami Heat guard set to miss the first half of the regular season with a foot injury, Beasley may have turned into a necessity rather than a luxury.
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