Getty Patrick Beverley of the Los Angeles Clippers drives against the Indiana Pacers.
The Los Angeles Lakers made a huge splash before free agency by agreeing to a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans to land Anthony Davis. Now tasked with filling out the rest of their roster, the Lakers are looking for a number of quality shooters and defenders to help fill out what will ideally become a versatile, two-way roster.
Patrick Beverley certainly checks the defense category and while he isn’t the best shooter, more than makes up for his offensive deficiencies by being a hound on the defensive end. One of the few players in the league happy to spend every second of his time on the court pestering an opposing point guard, Beverley is the exact type of gritty, non-ball dominant player that the Lakers are trying to build their roster with.
However, Beverley is coming off an excellent showing for the Clippers last season and while far from a top priority in free agency, should still command a fair amount of interest from teams in the market for an affordable veteran guard (spoiler alert, that’s almost every team).
Lakers’ Interest in Patrick Beverley May Set up Perfect Pairing
Interesting to note about the Lakers potential interest in free-agent Patrick Beverley. It would be very tough for Clippers owner Steve Ballmer to lose Beverley to his Staples Center rival.
While the Lakers would make for a great pairing with Patrick Beverley, the Clippers are unlikely to give him up that easily. The Clippers are flush with cap space and outside of Beverley, are returning nearly their entire core group that made the playoffs last season.
The Clippers have enough money to re-sign Beverley to a healthy salary while still going after a max salary free agent, meaning they should be expected to make a full-court press for the veteran guard’s services. Beverley was a crucial part of the Clippers’ playoff push and the idea of losing him to a team that shares their home building would be a tough pill for the Clippers to swallow.
However, Beverley is an unrestricted free agent and should he decide the Lakers offer him the best shot at a ring (which they likely do), it isn’t out of the realm of possibility to see him walk on the Clippers.
Other Potential Lakers Free Agency Targets
Outside of the four big-name free agent targets (Irving, Leonard, Butler, Walker), there are a number of affordable players the Lakers can target in an effort to fill out the lineup. JJ Redick has been a name thrown around frequently as his shooting touch looks to pair well with LeBron and Davis. Seth Curry is another guard who should be relatively cheap yet can shoot the deep ball as good as ALMOST anyone in the league.
As far as forwards and big men go, Trevor Ariza was a popular candidate to find his way onto the Lakers last season but ended up being dealt to the Wizards. The veteran already had a stint in LA to start his career and coming back home to chase a ring might be going through the mind of the savvy two-way threat.
Both Lopez brothers could be worth looking into, although Brook likely priced himself out of a spot with his excellent performance in Milwaukee. However, the Lakers spurned Brook in free agency last season and their actions could have an impact on not only landing him but his more defensive-minded twin brother Robin.