Getty Images Patrick Beverley has signed with the Bulls.
Patrick Beverley signed with the Chicago Bulls on Monday but revealed on his podcast that the Golden State Warriors were the other team he was considering.
Beverley was traded by the Los Angeles Lakers to the Orlando Magic and quickly agreed to a buyout. Beverley announced his next move on the appropriately named “Pat Bev Podcast With Rone,” going home to play for the Bulls. Beverley played his college basketball in Arkansas but went to high school in Chicago.
“I’m going to be taking my talents back home to Chicago. It was between Golden State and the Bulls,” Beverley said. “Obviously, it’s always good to play with a lot of great talent like in Golden State, but a lot of guards over there. I figure I can make a playoff push with the Bulls right now and pump them up a little bit. The East is a little weak.”
Beverley averaged 6.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists with the Lakers prior to the trade. The Bulls are 26-33 at the All-Star break, the Bulls are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings
Warriors Could Have Used Beverley’s Defense
Beverley would have been an interesting fit for the Warriors, who could have used him in the rotation after learning guard Gary Payton II would miss an extended period of time after trading for him at the deadline.
Beverley is not an offensive juggernaut but his mentality on the defensive end of the floor would have been valued by Golden State. He’s known for getting in opponents’ heads and has even had his battles with the Warriors stars over the years.
Much like Beverley, Warriors veteran Draymond Green is not scared to speak his mind and was very adamant before the All-Star break that the team needs to buy-in on defense.
“I don’t think it’s a championship hangover. It’s a will to want to defend,” Green said. “You’re not hungover at .500, 60 games into the season. You’re a loser if you’re still hungover at that point, so there’s no hangover. It’s the will to defend, stop and guard your man, sink in help and trap the box, rotate. Defense is all one to two steps extra. I’ma take that extra step to get there or I’m not. That’s all will, and we don’t have that as a team.”
Warriors Need to Surge Out of Break
A loss to the Clippers before the All-Star break dropped the Warriors to 29-29 and the defending champs are exactly what their record indicates — a middle-of-the-pack team, in almost every category.
“It’s now or never. We’re at .500 at the break, middle-of-the-pack team with those middle-of-the-pack stats,” Green said. “So you got to come out the break and win and do it at a high level, or you go home in the beginning of April.”
What will obviously help the Warriors is getting Stephen Curry back healthy. He’s been out since early February with a leg injury and his exact timeline to get back on the court is still uncertain.
“Ligaments can heal in all different types of timelines,” Curry told reporters on February 13. “So there’s a window for each checkpoint. After the All-Star break, I will hopefully get back on the court, and then depending on how things go from there, we can key in on a specific date to get back.”
The Warriors are currently the No. 9 seed in the West but their push out of the break will be crucial. They’re just one game back of the sixth seed, which would allow them to skip the Play-In Tournament but also just a game ahead of the No. 12 seed Trail Blazers.