Michael Beasley has been attempting to take on the role of mentor to Hassan Whiteside.

Whiteside has emerged as a productive big man after bouncing around the basketball world since leaving Marshall in 2010.

Beasley returned to the NBA in the middle of the season after playing in China.

“It's funny because everybody looks at me or not even me, looks at a troublemaker, and really wouldn't want him to hinder the success of anyone else,” Beasley said. “Then they look at a Dwyane Wade and then a LeBron James, well, that's the perfect guy to listen to. Well not always. Sometimes you want to listen to the guy that's been through some things, the guy that fell off the mountain and climbed back and really that's what Hassan needed. That's what I needed. That's what I had in UD (Udonis Haslem) my first couple years, somebody that didn't have the high road to take his whole career.”