After weeks of anticipation, fans of the Los Angeles Lakers finally saw their team make a trade in the offseason. While it wasn’t a trade for Russell Westbrook, the Lakers got rid of a role player in Talen Horton-Tucker to bring in a defensive-minded veteran guard in Patrick Beverley.
Beverley, over the years, has established himself as a solid defender. Known for his incredible tenacity, Beverley is an underrated spot-up shooter as well. He might have played for cross-town rivals the Los Angeles Clippers for some time, but now the guard is all in for the Lakers experience with LeBron James.
After the Purple and Gold officially announced the arrival of the guard, Beverley was understandably delighted to be a Laker. Hours later, the former Clippers guard took to social media and even posted a picture of the Lakers practice with the caption:
“First Day of School”
Beverley might be a polarizing figure for some NBA fans, there is no doubt how passionate he is about the game. It is great to see that the 34-year-old is already putting in the work for the team ahead of a very important season.
While Pat Bev’s arrival does solve some problems for the Lakers, it does raise some big questions for the team. Given how he has had a beef with Russell Westbrook, seeing the Lakers making a move for Beverley is fairly awkward. Another interesting thing would be where we see Beverley fit in the Lakers squad.
The Lakers haven’t had a solid shooting guard for quite some time. While there have been rumblings of including sophomore Austin Reeves into the rotation, Beverley has had some experience in playing as the two. The caveat in this case, though, will be that the 34-year-old is not a volume shooter, which might not help the Lakers’ already woeful shooting.
The Lakers have certainly taken a step in the right direction with this trade, but will it be enough for them to compete for a title again?
