Former Rockets Forward Michael Beasley Signs With Yao Ming's Shanghai Sharks

Beasley is heading back to China.

Former Houston Rockets forward Michael Beasley is returning to professional basketball after a year off.

The Athletic is reporting that Beasley is set to ink a seven-figure deal with the Chinese Basketball Association's Shanghai Sharks.

Beasley, 33, is best known for his collegiate endeavors at Kansas State, where he set an NCAA freshman record with 28 double-doubles during the 2007-08 season. His dominant season led to the Miami Heat choosing him with the second overall pick of the ensuing draft. Though Beasley struggled to live up to the lofty standards placed upon him, he nonetheless built an 11-year NBA career with seven different teams (Miami, Minnesota, Phoenix, Houston, Milwaukee, New York, LA Lakers).

Beasley played 20 games for the Rockets back in 2016, averaging 12.8 points per game.

Since his last NBA service with the Lakers in 2019, Beasley has re-established himself as an international basketball star. His coming stint with the Sharks will be his second in Shanghai, where he averaged 28.7 points and 10.4 rebounds during the 2014-15 season. In the following year, Beasley played with Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin and earned the CBA's International MVP Award previously won by fellow former Knick Stephon Marbury in 2013. More recently, Beasley spent the 2020-21 campaign in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional before taking a year off.

The Sharks have competed in the CBA since 1996. They are best known for hosting Yao Ming's pre-NBA endeavors before the Rockets made him the top pick of the 2002 draft. Yao later bought the team in 2009, shortly before his NBA departure.