:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64142507/usa_today_12088469.0.jpg)
Since entering the league in 2011, Patrick Beverley has never made $7 million in a single year. Now age 30, this summer might really be his only chance at a legitimate payday, especially when you consider how hard he plays and how willing he is to sacrifice his body.
Beverley is looking to get paid — the kind of thing you can do when you have as many suitors as he apparently does, according to Tim McMahon of ESPN:
Sources: Patrick Beverley is seeking a deal in the three-year, $40+ million range. Suitors include Mavs, Lakers, Bulls and Clippers. Agent Bill Duffy also represents Luka Doncic and is known to be intrigued by idea of pairing bulldog Beverley with the young playmaker.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 27, 2019
Beverley, would make a ton of sense for the Lakers, who don’t need the prototypical, ball-dominating point guard. If the Lakers were to open up their full potential allotment of $32 million in cap space, pairing Beverley with, say, D’Angelo Russell would be a pretty nice outcome as Rob Pelinka continues to round out this roster.
Even without Russell, though, given how much time LeBron James is going to spend on the ball, Beverley’s ability (and willingness) to defend his tail off and disrupt opposing offenses on multiple levels would be welcomed to a team that might struggle on that end. Combine that with his ability to shoot from three (he’s a career 38 percent shooter from that range) and he’s just about the perfect guard given what the Lakers will need.
All that said, those qualities and attributes make him the perfect point guard for just about any contender — especially those teams that have primary ball-handlers elsewhere on the roster.
As McMahon points out, Dallas has Luka Doncic, who will spend the majority of his time on the ball, so a defense-first shooter makes a ton of sense for them.
Should the Clippers successfully add Kawhi Leonard, he’d drive the offense and those two would be absolutely terrific defensively on the perimeter.
Chicago has Zach LaVine to run the offense, so pairing him with Beverley would work much in the same way as the Lakers would hope with Russell.
Beverley has a valuable skillset and is looking to get paid. Those attributes as well as the toughness he brings to whichever team that signs him will likely ensure his contractual wishes get met.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. Here is a list of every free agent credibly connected to the Lakers so far.