MIAMI (AP)—Michael Beasley(notes) of the Miami Heat is being treated for depression-related issues at a Houston rehabilitation facility, a person briefed on the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.

Beasley checked into the facility last week, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns. It’s unknown how long Beasley will remain at the facility, or whether he will be available when the Heat open training camp on Sept. 28.

A photo of the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA draft was posted Friday to his Twitter account, in which Beasley displayed a new tattoo across his shoulders. The image also captured what appeared to be a small plastic bag on an adjacent table, the contents of which were unclear.


It’s unknown if Beasley was already in rehab when the photograph—and several comments, including “Feelin like it’s not worth livin!!!!!!! I’m done” and “I feel like the whole world is against me I can’t win for losin”—were posted on the feed.

Beasley’s account has since been closed. Another account he used was shut down July 27.

“What Michael Jr. is going (through) is just a bump on the road we call life,” said a posting Monday on Michael Beasley Sr.’s Twitter feed. “Please pray for him, he needs it.”

A phone call to Beasley Sr.’s home in Bowie, Md., went unanswered.

Yahoo! Sports first reported Beasley entered a rehab facility.

Beasley finished his rookie season as Miami’s second-leading scorer behind Dwyane Wade(notes), averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. He spent much of the year as a reserve, and both Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley talked often this summer about utilizing Beasley more this coming season at small forward and power forward.

“Beas, we hope that we’re going to see a lot of him at the 3 spot,” Riley said in a conference call with the team’s beat writers earlier this month.

At times this past season, Beasley’s immaturity was of some concern to teammates. He typically laughed off such criticism, saying he was young and acting accordingly.

“The guy’s got a lot of talent,” Wade told The AP during a July conversation on a number of topics, including Beasley’s potential. “I can’t wait to see what he does with it. He’s 20 years old. I’d love to see it all come together this year.”

Beasley’s second season, much like his first pro year, is off to an ominous start.

Beasley was fined $50,000 by the NBA last September after security officers at the league’s rookie symposium detected the scent of marijuana in a hotel room occupied by Beasley, Mario Chalmers(notes), Darrell Arthur(notes) and two women. Chalmers and Arthur were fined $20,000; Beasley drew the stiffer fine for at first trying to hide his presence from NBA officials.

Beasley told The AP in January that there were times during his first six months as a professional that he felt “everyone was against me” and that many things “get blown out of proportion”—referring specifically to the rookie symposium incident.

He spent one season at Kansas State before entering the draft, averaging 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds in his lone college year.