The Lakers Acquire Patrick Beverley
When the Brooklyn Nets announced that they were moving forward with their partnership with Kevin Durant, many believed it would create ripple effects on the offseason plans of several other teams- particularly those who had been kicking the tires on trades for either of the Nets star players.
With Durant dropping his trade demands after a meeting with the Brooklyn front office, the Nets also indicated they plan to keep Irving as well. As a result the Los Angeles Lakers had to shift their focus to other areas for the upcoming campaign.
A Quick Move
A day after the Kevin Durant saga ended in Brooklyn, the Lakers pivoted to their next move by acquiring Patrick Beverley from the Utah Jazz.
The deal includes the Lakers sending Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson in exchange for the veteran defender in Beverley. This marks the second time during the 2022 offseason that Beverley has been moved from one team to another.
Beverley was also a part of the package that the Minnesota Timberwolves used in their deal that sent Rudy Gobert to Minnesota.
The 34 year old averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals last season for the Timberwolves. During the first round of the 2022 playoffs, he saw those averages jump to 11 points, 4.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
The Benefits
While Patrick Beverley may have been painted as the Lakers’ public enemy number one during his stint with the Los Angeles Clippers, having him alongside LeBron James is beneficial- especially when you consider Beverley’s defensive strengths.
For the Jazz, acquiring Horton-Tucker and Johnson will speed up their rebuilding process as it gives them additional NBA ready players in their early 20’s. While Beverley can certainly still contribute to a contender, he never appeared destined to become a Utah mainstay given his age and their current organizational outlook.
More importantly, Beverley gets his wish to play for the Lakers- something he has stated on multiple occasions. Aside from his defensive toughness, the Lakers would also benefit from Beverley as a spot-up shooter- which the Lakers sorely lacked last season.
Reports indicate neither team will give up future draft picks in the deal either, which is something the Lakers can ill afford to do at the moment.
The Questions
One of the questions fans immediately began to ask upon hearing about the trade is how Patrick Beverley is going to fit into a roster that still has Russell Westbrook.
The two have a longstanding “icy” relationship which originally stemmed from a collision in the 2013 playoffs which resulted in Westbrook injuring his knee. The two would have multiple on court run ins over the next few seasons including 2014, 2017 and 2018 incidents where they had to be separated amidst a barrage of technical fouls.
Westbrook and Beverley have also traded barbs on social media as recently as this year with the two going back and forth about Russ’s less than stellar season in Los Angeles.
The outspoken Beverley can also get intense on the defensive end and his antics sometimes result in unnecessary technical fouls. Combine that with Westbrook’s tendency to get too close to the referees, especially when he feels the officials missed a call and it’s a recipe for another chaotic campaign.
While the former Timberwolves forward will likely fit in well with Lakers’ Head Coach Darvin Ham’s system, some wonder whether the Lakers gave up too much in the deal to acquire Beverley.
Horton-Tucker was once a promising young player for the Lakers and was one of the few bright spots in their otherwise forgettable 2021-22 season. Stanley Johnson was another great pick-up for Utah as he also had an impressive run in Hollywood in a limited role.
It’s no secret that Los Angeles has been shopping Russell Westbrook around the league. But with seemingly no takers, and his nemesis now in the same locker room, are the Lakers setting themselves up for another media circus this fall?
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Frenchieinportland. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.