Instead, he watched the cartoon "Fanboy & Chum Chum" on Nickelodeon while enjoying pizza, french fries and lemonade. Apparently, Beasley had no idea he was seven minutes away from becoming a Laker. But then Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor nixed a proposed three-team trade before Thursday's NBA trade deadline and Beasley remained on the Timberwolves.
"I wasn't leaning toward staying or going," said Beasley before the Timberwolves played the Lakers on Friday at Staples Center. "I was just having a regular day."
It hardly proved to be a regular day for the parties involved.
In the nixed deal, the Lakers would have sent Derek Fisher to Minnesota. Then they would have shipped the first-round pick acquired from the Lamar Odom trade to Dallas over to Portland. The Blazers would have traded Jamal Crawford to Minnesota. And the Timberwolves would have given Anthony Tolliver to Portland. Meanwhile, the Lakers and Portland also planned to send an undisclosed amount of cash to Minnesota.
Playing in the last year of a contract paying him $6.3 million this season, Beasley remained pragmatic over whether Minnesota would re-sign him this summer. He sounded more concerned about a left toe injury that's kept him sidelined for three consecutive games.
"I would love to stay here," said Beasley, who's averaging 11.8 points a game. "That's one of those things I have no control over. I have a family here in my teammates. I love the community. The fans are great and the organization is great. But it's not really in my hands."
Once the deadline passed, Beasley said he talked with Timberwolves Coach Rick Adelman and David Kahn, president of basketball operations, about his play. Adelman asked Beasley for more on-court consistency, namely on defense and rebounding.
"When he has it going, he's a very active player," Adelman said. "When he doesn't, he has the tendency to stay in the shadows. We can't afford that. We have to have it all the time."
That process didn't start against the Lakers. Even though guard J.J. Barea joked he would talk to the training staff to clear Beasley to play, Adelman is penciling his return Sunday when the Timberwolves visit Sacramento. Beasley's on-court participation at Staples Center solely consisted of pregame warmups, which convinced him that he had made improvement in his running, jumping and lateral movement.
Beasley came close to performing that routine Friday at Staples Center while wearing a Lakers uniform. But he said that hardly registered with him.
"If I was in the other locker room, it would've been the same thing," Beasley said. "But I'm not. I'm with the Timberwolves. I'm going to remain with the Timberwolves."
