Malik Beasley, a leading NBA free agent currently under federal investigation for gambling-related allegations, is also facing a lawsuit from a former agency. Hazan Sports Management Group, based in New York, filed a suit against Beasley in U.S. District Court on April 18, just before he and the Detroit Pistons began their first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks.
According to ESPN’s report on Tuesday, Hazan negotiated a one-year contract between Beasley and the Pistons last summer. Despite a four-year exclusive marketing agreement, Beasley terminated the agency’s services in April and hired Seros Partners, which prompted the lawsuit. The agency is seeking $1 million in damages and wants to recover an advance payment of $650,000, along with additional fees and costs. Both parties are reportedly working towards a settlement as of a June 11 court submission.
Requests for comment from the agency were unanswered, and Beasley’s legal team was not mentioned in court documents. Steve Haney, representing Beasley in the federal probe, stated on Tuesday that Beasley is not involved in the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York continues to investigate Beasley over gambling allegations related to NBA games.
Haney, with 23 years of legal experience, urged the public to withhold judgment since many clients he has represented were never federally charged. This investigation follows heightened scrutiny in the NBA after Jontay Porter’s ban last year linked to a prop bet investigation where Porter admitted to a wire fraud scheme.
Earlier this season, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat was under investigation for unusual betting activity during a March 2023 game, although Rozier faces no charges or league sanctions at present.
Porter’s ban came after investigations revealed suspicious betting around his March 20, 2024 performance against Sacramento. The NBA was alerted by organizations monitoring licensed sportsbooks about unusual betting patterns. League officials said Porter shared inside information on his health before the game, while an NBA-associated bettor placed an $80,000 wager that Porter wouldn’t meet key statistical benchmarks, a bet that stood to win $1.1 million.
Last year, Beasley signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Pistons, aiming to leverage his free agency status this summer. He set a franchise record by making 319 three-pointers in the regular season and helped Detroit secure its first playoff berth since 2019, snapping a 15-game postseason losing streak with a first-round series against the Knicks.
Beasley averaged 16.3 points last season and 11.7 points over his NBA career with several teams including Denver, Minnesota, Utah, the Lakers, Milwaukee, and Detroit. His career-high average was 19.6 points per game during the 2020-21 season with the Timberwolves. Hailing from Atlanta, Beasley played college basketball at Florida, and was drafted 19th overall by the Denver Nuggets in 2016.
Report by the Associated Press.
Fan Take: This story puts a spotlight on the ongoing challenges the NBA faces with gambling-related issues and player conduct, raising important questions about integrity in the sport. For basketball fans, it underlines the need for vigilance in protecting the game’s fairness while watching how the league balances investigations and player careers moving forward.
