Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald with our Michael Beasley fix:
Beasley appears to be adjusting well to the initial stages of his conversion from power forward to small forward. The team plans to continue to play him at both positions, which is why Beasley is being strongly encouraged to put on about 10 pounds this offseason. He will add the weight yet improve his quickness and versatility. He also won't have a shortage of motivation. Beasley will likely find himself on the outside looking in when it comes to a spot at the USA training camp. The team will bring together 24 of the top first, second or third-year players to form a pseudo pipeline for future USA national teams. Judging by the names that have emerged, it looks like USA basketball went out of its way to pick around Beasley.
Last we heard of Beasley, he was working on guard drills to adjust to the life of a small forward, and now we hear he is bulking up to play some power forward as well. Looks like the Heat is trying develop Beasley into a combo forward who is able to attack opposing defenses any way he wants, much in the same way that Antwan Jamison does for the Washington Wizards. Is Beasley a power forward or small forward and does it even matter? All we can ask for is that Beasley just continues to work hard on his overall game. Beasley has the potential to be an All Star in this league and it could happen as soon as he wants it to.
