Michael Beasley will be playing his basketball in Los Angeles next season after deciding to be part of an intriguing Lakers project alongside former teammate LeBron James.

Since James agreed to ditch Cleveland for L.A, the team has done their best to surround him with talented role players who can score, handle the ball and create shots. Incidentally, Beasley, who played with James in Miami, has become the latest piece.

The 29-year-old forward is perhaps viewed as an underachiever, considering the fact that he was selected as the second overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and came into the league with the reputation of a straight-up scorer.

via nbcsports.com

PREVIOUSLY: MICHAEL BEASLEY AGREES TO ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH LAKERS

Beasley's problems, though, were more off-court and his attitude likely influenced the minutes he was handed by previous coaches. But he's admittedly become a more mature player and his arrival in Los Angeles does show how highly he's still regarded.

So, how is Beasley expected to help his new team? Simple; he's going to score as many points as his coach allows, and efficiently too.

The 6 ft 9 in forward hit more than half of his shots for the last three years and has bagged 50.7 percent of his attempts in that time, the fourth-best among all small forwards in the NBA.

The Maryland native, known for scoring from close range, hit 64.7 percent of his shots from the restricted area and 49.0 percent from the non-restricted area of the paint last season. Beasley's preferred range is rather unique as most players don't prioritize scoring from the non-restricted area as it's not close enough to the basket to score from easily and consistently and not far enough to count for three points.

Only two other players shot better from there last season, but Beasley also has an array of shots he hits quite regularly including hook shots, fadeaway jumpers, floaters, and whatever else you can imagine. A lot of the time, they're off balance.

Beasley is quite comfortable getting shots up from around the paint, but he can shoot from range as well and his beyond-the-arc game isn't at all shabby — although he only averaged around one attempted three per game last season.

He is also quite skilled when it comes to posting up but also works well without the ball as a cutter and averaged 1.46 points per possession last season, while shooting 72.3 percent off cuts.

Given his height and size, the forward will be able to exploit smaller defenders with his frame while using his unorthodox body control to finish.

He is expected to come off the bench, though, but the player insists he is only concerned about winning and isn't looking to compete for minutes.

“I just play,” he told the Lakers official website recently. “I wouldn’t say I’m headstrong or doing any one thing in particular. A lot of people would say that’s scoring, but I just play. Look for the open guy, run the floor, just try to have fun, let the game manifest itself.”

“I’m not really here to beat anybody for minutes or play any more than this guy,” Beasley said. “I’m here to help play a team game and do as much winning as I can.”

Beasley averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the New York Knicks last season. He could be a revelation playing for L.A in the next.

NEXT: WHY LAKERS FANS HAVEN'T EMBRACED LEBRON JAMES