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He might not be under the bright lights that come with playing Los Angeles Lakers anymore, but Patrick Beverley is still making noise in the NBA media.
When speaking on a March 7 episode of The Pat Bev podcast, the former Lakers guard, who is now with the Chicago Bulls, spoke out in support of troubled Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.
“The first thing my son did was the Griddy,” Beverley said, “The NBA needs Ja. He’s the face of the new culture.”
Morant, 23, has been dealing with some off-court troubles, the latest of which occurred on an Instagram live where he flashed what appeared to be a firearm, leading the Grizzlies to suspend the guard for two games and for an investigation to be opened, which could lead him to see his suspension increased by the league.
Lakers Receive Praise For Trade Deadline Moves
As the February 9 trade deadline drew near, the Lakers decided to revamp their roster and did so with a succession of moves that saw them add youth, talent, and balance to their rotation – although it did cost them Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley.
In his March 9 article for Bleacher Report, NBA Analyst Dan Favale gave the Lakers an ‘A’ for their recent moves, crediting their performances since their new-look roster was formed.
“The Lakers are 7-4 since the deadline, with the league’s best defense. Their offense is still, frankly, crud. But that’s to be expected when they don’t have LeBron or DLo, their two best shot creators, shot makers, and passers,” Favale wrote,‘ “It is more notable that the Lakers are surviving these absences at all. Losing LeBron would have been a nonstarter beforehand. There is something to be said about increasing the roster’s structural coherence by shipping out Russell Westbrook. To do all this, while surrendering only one pick that’s safeguarded against disaster is a demonstrative W.”
The Lakers will be back in action on March 10 when they face off against the Toronto Raptors.
Lakers Could Face ‘Difficult’ Contract Negotiations
When speaking to Heavy on Sports Sean Deveney, under the condition of anonymity, a Western Conference executive shared their thoughts on the hurdles Los Angeles could face when sitting down to negotiate a new contract with D’Angelo Russell.
“If they went this far with all of this just to let him go in free agency, there would be heads rolling. He wants to be back in LA. They need a star or something that resembles a star, and he resembles a star. Getting to the right [salary] number for both sides could be difficult, but really, there is no one out there who is going to give D’Angelo Russell a giant contract at this point. Look at the teams with cap space – Detroit? San Antonio? Houston? Who is going to pay him? So the Lakers are bidding against themselves,” The GM said.
Russell is in the final year of his current contract and will become an unrestricted free agent once the season reaches its conclusion. As such, it is in both parties’ best interests for them to agree on terms for a new deal as quickly as possible – otherwise, the Lakers risk losing their recently acquired guard.
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