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He is the longest-tenured Clipper and the guy who came to be identified with the franchise’s restart after the Chris Paul trade in 2017. But in the past year, point guard Patrick Beverley has seen good friend Lou Williams traded, and another friend, Montrezl Harrell, bolt across town to the Lakers. There is also the departure of coach Doc Rivers, his mentor who himself is a former point guard from West Chicago, like Beverley.
With the team trying to retool this offseason, it may be time for Beverley to find a new home, too.
And going back home to the Bulls might be just the thing for Beverley, who turns 33 next week and could bring some welcome defensive toughness to a Chicago team that badly needs it, especially on the perimeter.
Beverley was a star at Marshall High on Chicago’s West Side back in the mid-2000s and after two years at Arkansas, played in Europe for three seasons before signing with the Rockets in 2013. He considered signing with the Bulls when he was a free agent in 2019, but ultimately decided to re-up with the Clippers on a three-year, $40 million contract.
Beverley was the starting point guard for most of his tenure with the Clippers, but lost that job to Reggie Jackson this season. The Clippers must decide whether to pay Jackson, who will be a free agent this summer. If they do, they’ll likely look to get out of the final year of Beverley’s contract, slated for $14.3 million.
A deal that begins with Beverley to the Bulls for veteran guard Tomas Satoransky (slated to make $10 million, non-guaranteed before August 1) would require some threading of the needle but would address needs on both sides.
The big thing for the Bulls would be to add some toughness to a group that was sorely lacking, especially on the defensive end. The Bulls had a defensive rating of 111.5 points per 100 possessions last year, which was 12th in the NBA.
That’s not terrible, of course, but it ballooned to 114.7 in clutch situations (games within five points with five minutes to play), which ranked 23rd in the NBA. That’s indicative of a team that can’t get stops when it needs them, and a big part of the reason Chicago was 14-21 in clutch-situation games (26th).
That’s where Beverley could make a big difference for this team.
Beverley Will Serve One-Game Suspension to Start Season
Beverley provided one of the lasting images of the playoffs this year, though not in a positive way. During the finale of the Clippers’ loss to the Suns in the Western Conference finals, Beverley was walking past Phoenix star Chris Paul and, as he said, allowed his, “emotions to get the better,” of him. Beverley, according to the NBA, was guilty of, “forcefully pushing [Paul] from behind and knocking him to the court.” Beverley was suspended for one game, which will carry into next season’s opener.
While Beverley admitted he’d gone too far there, he has a reputation for toughness which has gotten under the skin of several players around the league. Most notable is Russell Westbrook, who injured his knee in the playoffs while playing against Beverley when Beverley was with the Rockets in 2013, Beverley’s rookie year.
In 2019, while Westbrook was with the Rockets and Beverley was a Clipper, Westbrook told reporters, “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. He just running around, doing nothing.”
Beverley’s D Bolstered by 3-Point Shooting Prowess
It may be that Beverley’s defensive prowess is overstated, helped, in part, by his theatrics and personality. But Beverley is no doubt still a quality defensive player—this year, the Clippers’ defensive rating was 106.7 points per 100 possessions when Beverley was on the floor, best among Clippers regulars.
His net rating (offensive rating minus defensive rating) was plus-9.0 according to NBA.com stats, behind only stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
He is not a pure point guard by any stretch, but he does knock down open shots when he gets them. In four seasons with the Clippers, he has made 39.5% of his 3-pointers and, according to Basketball-Reference.com, he made 46.3% of his corner 3-pointers last season.
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