Evaluating Lakers-Jazz Trade Involving Patrick Beverley
Many have been anticipating the Los Angeles Lakers making a significant move this offseason given the fact that they are coming off a season in which they went 33-49 and failed to make the playoffs for the seventh time in the last nine years.
All-Star Kyrie Irving was rumored to be high atop the list of potential trade targets for the Lakers, but Los Angeles has finalized a deal and Irving is not a part of it.
On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a deal with the Utah Jazz in which Patrick Beverley would be traded to Los Angeles in exchange for two former first-round picks in Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson.
Beverley, 34, has now been traded four times in the last two offseasons and prior to being dealt to the Lakers on Thursday, he was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Utah Jazz as part of the massive deal that sent All-Star center Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves earlier this offseason.
Now back in Los Angeles, but this time with the Lakers, Patrick Beverley should continue to serve as a primary defender for his new team, a role that he has been very familiar with over the years.
One of the better on-ball defenders in the entire league, Beverley is also a really sound facilitator that has a high understanding for where to be on the floor and how to find his open teammates when the ball is in his hands.
“We are thrilled to add Patrick Beverley’s toughness and competitive spirit to our team,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in the team’s press release on Thursday. “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.”
Playing in 58 games last season in Minnesota, Beverley averaged 9.2 points, 4.1 rebound and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 40.6% from the floor and 34.3% from three-point range. For his career, Beverley has shot 37.8% from long-range.
As a team last year, the Lakers ranked 21st in defensive rating and 22nd in team three-point shooting percentage. Los Angeles is hopeful that Patrick Beveley will be able to help them rise in both statistics, especially given that he has played alongside other superstar players before and should be able to once again handle the pressure of playing next to guys like LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
However, Beverley and Westbrook have batted heads before, so it will be interesting to see if there is any “baggage” that still exists between these two guards.
Back in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, Patrick Beverley, who was with the Houston Rockets, collided into Russell Westbrook’s knee, who was with the Oklahoma City Thunder, forcing him to miss the remainder of the postseason. Westbrook was not happy with Beverley after this play and let him know shortly after.
Then in 2018, these two got into another altercation after Beverley dove at Westbrook’s legs in an attempt to grab a loose ball. In 2019, Russell Westbrook called out Patrick Beverley, stating, “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he plays defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. It’s just running around, doing nothing.”
These two have seemed to have an issue with one another for quite some time now, so while Beverley definitely fits in with the Los Angeles Lakers in terms of what they need defensively and in their backcourt, his fit from a mental and locker room perspective could wind up causing some issues with Westbrook.
On the other side of things in this trade, the Utah Jazz made out pretty well, especially given that waiving Patrick Beverley was an option that had been floating around.
Talen Horton-Tucker was the 46th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and Stanley Johnson was the 8th overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Both players have had trouble finding their footing in the league early on their respective careers, but both Horton-Tucker and Johnson present upside, something the Jazz are searching for right now in their youth since it looks like they are trending towards full-blown rebuild.
The addition of Stanley Johnson is a very underrated addition for the Jazz, as the 6-foot-6 forward is coming off a really solid season with the Lakers. Playing in 48 total games with Los Angeles during the 2021-22 season, starting in 27 games, Johnson averaged 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 46.6% from the floor.
He does need to work on becoming a more consistent three-point shooter, but Stanley Johnson plays hard on both ends of the floor and was a high-energy guy for the Lakers this past season.
While no draft picks were involved in this deal, the Jazz made out pretty well, especially since they get to take a swing at two young, high-potential players at the cost of a veteran on an expiring contract.
On the other end of things, the Lakers still have some drama to try and fix between Beverley and Westbrook, that is unless they have another trade in the works involving the nine-time All-Star.
