Patrick Beverley becomes the last member of the 2019 Clippers core to leave the franchise. The LA Clippers completed a trade that brings Eric Bledsoe to the LA and sends Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo, and Daniel Oturu. With Beverley’s exit, the 2019 Clippers core has now gone. Beverley was the defensive enforcer of the Clippers, doing the dirty work while Kawhi Leonard and Paul George focussed more on the offensive end of the court.
Beverley was initially excited to play with them. But frustrations and poor team chemistry led to significant changes being made to the roster over time. Beverley will look back at the moment he learned about the trade with some regret.
Patrick Beverley was in Las Vegas during the summer of 2019, presumably for the NBA Summer League. He went to a fancy restaurant for dinner with PJ Tucker and Jordan Clarkson. A reporter sitting next to their table recounted how she and the rest of the restaurant found out that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were joining the LA Clippers.
Patrick Beverley got up on top of the table and started screaming “I just won the f**king championship!” repeatedly. Clearly, as we saw over the last two seasons, things did not work out the way that Pat Bev anticipated. And since the news of the trade came out, fans have been bringing up this story to poke fun at Beverley’s overconfidence.
Beverley seemed to be one of the core members of the Clippers even when Kawhi and PG were the stars. Beverley was a starter and would take on the assignment of the opposition’s best offensive players. But his lack of offensive output had become a source of frustration.
And the Clippers just pulled off a move that gets them a more offensive-minded point guard going into the new season. Beverley could help the Grizzlies greatly, as defense is one of the weaker aspects of their game. But he will be thinking differently about his championship proclamation after the trade to Memphis.
