Minnesota Timberwolves' Malik Beasley suspended 12 games after guilty plea

"As a company, we totally support the decision by the NBA," Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said in a statement issued soon after the suspension was announced. "As we work with Malik to progress his own evolution as a player and a individual, we look forward to seeing his growth."

Beasley's suspension begins Saturday, when the Timberwolves are in Washington to play the Wizards.

The suspension will cost the shield $1.1 million.

Beasley agreed to a plea bargain with prosecutors earlier this month which saw juvenile drug charges against him get dropped in exchange for the prosecution. As a result, Beasley was sentenced to 120 days in prison, which might be served in the county workhouse or in home confinement, after the NBA season is finished in mid-May.

"We are extremely happy with this outcome which will enable Malik to continue focusing on becoming a better person and making better decisions," Beasley's lawyer, Steven Haney, said in a statement obtained by ESPN's Mark Schlabach following the prosecution has been agreed upon before this month.

In a statement obtained by Schlabach past September, the Plymouth Police Department said officers were called into Beasley's residence on a documented weapons crime. The coverage individuals told officers they had stopped their vehicle in the front of the home, plus a"defendant walked up to their automobile, tapped to the automobile window, pointed a gun at them and advised them to get from the house."

"As the victims drove away, the defendant was observed holding up the gun to his shoulder, pointing it in their vehicle," the police statement said.

A vehicle tried to leave the house and has been stopped by police. Three people in the car were detained and later released.

Officers obtained a search warrant to the land and found narcotics and numerous firearms, one of which was confirmed as discharged, authorities said.

Beasley was traded to Minnesota past February, and signed a four-year, $60 million deal with the Timberwolves in the offseason. He has been one of the few bright spots of an otherwise dreadful period for Minnesota, averaging 20.5 points per game and shooting 40% from 3-point range.

The Timberwolves are a league-worst 7-26, also have dropped six games in a row, as well as 10 of the past 11 games. They have not won two games in a row because the opening two matches of this year. The team declared coach Ryan Saunders after Sunday night's loss to the New York Knicks, and hired Chris Finch -- who'd been working for its Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach -- as Saunders' permanent replacement the following day.