Lakers Pitched to Dump Patrick Beverley in Deal for 8-Year Veteran Wing Upgrade

Patrick Beverley, Los Angeles Lakers

Getty Patrick Beverley, Los Angeles Lakers

Patrick Beverley has struggled to live up to the standards he set for himself while with the Minnesota Timberwolves and now finds himself being discussed as a potential trade chip for the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale, Josh Richardson could be the ideal trade target in a Beverley swap, in a move that would give the Lakers a stern on-ball wing defender and reliable three-level scorer off the bench.

“Surfing the market for real, actual wings—or any player over 6’4″—is the way to go. And while impact wings don’t typically come cheap, someone like Josh Richardson should be fairly gettable. He is in the final year of his deal and not worth a first-rounder, yet he can defend up and down the positional spectrum and provides more of an offensive punch than many of the Lakers’ other supporting cast members,” Favale wrote.

In 34 games this season, Richardson is averaging 11.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 44.2% from the field and 36.1% from the perimeter. It’s worth noting that Richardson has only started three games for the San Antonio Spurs this season, so he would have no problem coming off the Lakers’ bench should they choose to acquire him.


Lakers Selling LeBron James ‘Fantasy’ Of Additional Star

While Richardson would make perfect sense as an upgrade to the Lakers rotation, he would not be the star addition LeBron James and Lakers fans have been hoping for. According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles is likely selling LeBron on a bigger deal during the off-season, in which they bring in a new star talent to help improve their struggling roster.

“Internally, I’m sure the Lakers are selling James on an offseason when Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard becomes available, and L.A. swoops in with its picks to acquire them. But that’s more fantasy than reality,” Mannix said.

The Lakers are currently sitting 13th in the NBA’s Western Conference and have shown little signs of making a push to make the postseason. As such, if the front office decides to stand pat until the off-season, they will need to sell LeBron on their continued desire to build a contending team around him.


Lakers Nearing A Return To Full Health

According to head coach Darvin Ham, who was speaking to Dan Woike of the LA Times during a recent team practice, the Lakers are finally nearing a return to full health, with Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Lonnie Walker IV all making good progress on their rehab from injury.

“Lonnie is trending in the right direction, Austin is trending in the right direction, AD looked really good. He was out on the floor a little bit today…So we’re right on course of what we want to get done in terms of getting them back in the lineup,” Ham said.

The Lakers will be hoping that once their roster returns to full strength, they can finally make a push up the conference standings and qualify for the postseason, either through the play-in or due to their seeding.

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