Getty Patrick Beverley, left
Add Patrick Beverley to the list of potential trade candidates for the Philadelphia 76ers. The sharp-shooting guard has strong ties to the Houston Rockets and James Harden, with reports indicating that he may be available.
Beverley was sent packing from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Utah Jazz in the blockbuster deal for Rudy Gobert. The Jazz might want to move him if they are indeed transitioning into full-on rebuild mode, which seems to be the case. ESPN reported that Utah was “open to trades across the entire roster.”
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, Philadelphia is one of three teams drawing interest on Beverley and his “past Houston experience” could move him to the front of the line. The other teams? The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. The 34-year-old comes with a one-year, $13 million contract. He averaged 9.2 points in 25.4 minutes per game last season while shooting 34.3% from deep.
Beverley would be an interesting fit in Philly as a tough perimeter sniper with serious defensive chops. He made first-team All-Defense in 2017, plus second-team All-Defense in 2014 and 2020. Remember, Beverley also played alongside James Harden in Houston and under Doc Rivers in Los Angeles. His personality fits in with the gritty culture the organization is trying to build.
Things got heated in the 4th quarter of the 76ers & Clippers game:
Joel Embiid & Patrick Beverley picked up techs then Jimmy Butler & Avery Bradley picked up techs two minutes later.
“I’m not the GM. I’m not the president. I don’t make those decisions,” Joel Embiid told reporters on May 12. “These guys are going to do what it takes to win the championship and if it means trading people, or signing new people, or trading me – uh, that’s what they are going to do, and that’s what they believe is going to give them a shot of winning the championship.”
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Trade Offer or Wait Out Buyout Market?
Beverley is a point guard and the Sixers’ depth chart is crowded. De’Anthony Melton has the backup spot behind Harden, with Tyrese Maxey manning it in some lineups and Shake Milton taking up any remaining minutes. But Beverley is a leader and a guy hungry for his first championship. It could work.
The Sixers would have to clear salary-cap space to add Beverley, most likely shipping off Matisse Thybulle and a draft pick or maybe another piece like Furkan Korkmaz. Would they do that? Probably not. Unless the Jazz decides to offer Beverley a buyout.
This will inevitably be a talking point until something happens, so here’s how Tyrese Maxey and Donovan Mitchell compare for their careers across every shooting/scoring metric I look at:
2p%: Maxey
3p%: Maxey
eFG: Maxey
TS: Maxey
3p rate: Mitchell
FT rate: Mitchell
Usg: Mitchell
According to Heavy’s Sean Deveney, some league executives wonder if “contract buyouts are in the offing.” If so, teams are going to pump the brakes on any trade offers.
“I think with some of those cases, like with Beverley and Beasley, everyone wants to see if there is a buyout first,” one league executive told Deveney. “They (the Jazz) haven’t picked a lane yet.”
Beverley was supposed to be a nice complement to Donovan Mitchell, the three-time All-Star guard who now appears to be on the trade block. The Sixers have been loosely linked to Mitchell, too. The only way to acquire Mitchell would be to surrender Tyrese Maxey in the trade.
Don’t Forget Embiid-Beverley History
Embiid has taken aim at Beverley in regard to his trash talking tactics. The Sixers big man accused Beverley of not backing up his words on the court saying: “it just feels weird to be in a position where like you’re always talking trash nonstop, nonstop.” Embiid’s point was that Beverley overacts the part of tough guy.
Embiid’s previous comments probably don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. He had beef with Andre Drummond and they become model teammates. Heck, dominant teammates. This was nothing. Beverley surely would forgive and forget. Ditto for Embiid who has been on the other end of Beverley’s beating stick.
Pat Bev to the officials tonight:
“Call the foul on Joel Embiid, it’s okay… He not a champion and he got no MVPs”
(h/t @B_HedtkeNBA)
