The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat are looking to improve their performance in the 2021/22 NBA season, where they were close to reaching a certain stage but fell short against their rivals. First, the Lakers succumbed to the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs to lose that last play-in tournament spot, while the Heat lost against the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.
So now it’s time for these teams to try to get a valuable piece that can help them improve their level ahead of what will be a competitive 2022/23 NBA season. These two organizations have been linked with a series of players recently, especially Kyrie Irving, following his back and forth with the Brooklyn Nets a couple of weeks ago.
The same is happening now, as they have reportedly set their sights on one player considered a defensive specialist around the league. After Patrick Beverley was traded from Minnesota to Utah in the blockbuster deal that sent Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves, rumors around the league suggest that the guard will be on the move again soon.
After rumors suggesting that Donovan Mitchell could be dealt soon, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report writes that the Heat and Lakers are candidates to acquire Bev’s services. He also mentions the Philadelphia 76ers, but that option is unlikely right now.
“Patrick Beverley also appears to be a strong trade candidate,” Fischer wrote. “The former [Minnesota] Timberwolves point guard has drawn interest from the Lakers and Heat, sources told B/R. Philadelphia had been mentioned as a potential Beverley suitor, with his past Houston experience and the [Philadelphia] Sixers’ obvious deep [Houston] Rockets connections, but it seems unlikely that Beverley would now be Philadelphia-bound after the team acquired De’Anthony Melton on draft night.”
Beverley had touched on the rumors placing him on the Lakers, calling their fans for booing him when he was a Clippers player. Still, anything can happen in the NBA, and perhaps he’ll find his way to LA again to defend the Purple and Gold. As for now, he wants to know what’s next for Utah and see if he and the team are on the same page.
