Malik Beasley is in plea talks with the Justice Department over federal gambling charges and expects to decide early next week

Malik Beasley is in plea negotiations with Department of Justice lawyers over federal charges that he manipulated his play for the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2023-24 season as part of a sports gambling scheme, The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov reports.

Beasley was indicted in June on sports betting, money laundering and wire fraud charges and initially pleaded not guilty. Court records on Friday night indicated that he intends to change his plea, though his lawyer, Steve Haney, told Vorkunov that Beasley has not made a final decision. A decision is expected early next week.

According to the indictment, Beasley allegedly manipulated prop bets on his own play in games against the Cavaliers on Jan. 26, 2024, the Hornets on Feb. 27, 2024, the Clippers on March 10, 2024, and the Nets on March 21, 2024. He appeared in 79 games, 77 of them starts, for Milwaukee that season.

Beasley then signed a one-year deal with the Pistons and averaged 16.3 points while playing all 82 games in 2024-25, finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He was poised to re-sign with Detroit on a three-year, $42 million deal before the team learned he was under federal investigation, and he did not play in the NBA last season.

Former NBA veteran Ed Davis was indicted in the same case and allegedly helped lead the scheme. According to the indictment, Beasley fell into gambling debt and took a loan from Davis, his Timberwolves teammate in 2020-21, to repay the millions he owed. Davis and Paolo Zamorano, Beasley’s former agent, have pleaded not guilty, while the three other men charged in the case have pleaded guilty or intend to.

Beasley and Davis are the fourth and fifth former NBA players indicted in the federal probe into illegal sports gambling, joining Terry Rozier, Jontay Porter and Damon Jones. Porter was permanently banned from the NBA after a league investigation found he had disclosed confidential information to bettors, Jones has pleaded guilty, and Rozier is scheduled to go to trial in February. In a related case, Eric Earnest pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom on Thursday.