One of the biggest accomplishments of this offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers was when they acquired veteran guard Patrick Beverley in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz.
“We are thrilled to add Patrick Beverley’s toughness and competitive spirit to our team,” the Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said. “We’re confident that Patrick’s ‘3-and-D’ style will fit in nicely with the other pieces of our roster, and align perfectly with Coach Ham’s philosophy of hard work and smart play.”
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Although the Lakers lost two young guns – Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson – they got a tough defender who slots in nicely alongside team leaders – LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
According to Rohan Nadkarni, Patrick Beverley’s “defensive tenacity will be welcome on a team that lacked it last season, and he shoots well enough on open threes to play off superstars. While Beverley’s reputation at times can exceed his effectiveness, his value increases as the caliber of headliners he plays with does.
“With LeBron on most of the ballhandling duties, Beverley can slide into his ideal role: chasing around backcourt stars defensively while only being responsible for spacing the floor on the other end. After the debacle that was the Lakers’ defense in 2022, this acquisition immediately improves the team.”
When the Lakers newcomer was formally introduced in a press conference early this month, Los Angeles’ second-year point guard Russell Westbrook was a topic of discussion, particularly past beef between the two players.
“Super excited,” Beverley said when asked about his fit with Westbrook, per Sports Illustrated. “… I was asked this question two, three years ago, [about] someone I always wanted to play with and [Westbrook] was the first name. I have [known] Bron since I was a baby, a rookie in this league, so obviously I want to play with him.
“But a player with that competitive spirit, that fire, that will, that dog, that nastiness, that grit, to have a running mate like that, I have never had that. So I am super excited to see where it goes.”
To sum up, if the 34-year-old veteran guard regains his defensive intensity, which he demonstrated several seasons ago, Mr. 94 feet will definitely help the Los Angeles Lakers towards another championship.
Some Patrick Beverley stats, via NBA.com: the Chicago native (6’1”, 180) averaged 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 58 games (54 starts) for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.
In 526 career NBA games (438 starts) across 10 seasons with Minnesota (2021-22), LA Clippers (2017-21), and Houston (2012-17), he has averaged 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.4 minutes per game, shooting 37.8 percent from 3-point range.
Across 65 career playoff games (54 starts) with the Timberwolves, Clippers, and Rockets, Beverley has averaged 8.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 26.7 minutes per game, while shooting 36.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Beverley received All-Defensive First Team honors in 2017 and Second Team honors in 2014 and 2020.
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