The Los Angeles Lakers completely remodeled their roster ahead of the trade deadline, getting much younger at the expense of some veterans like Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley.
The Westbrook trade was the biggest of the bunch, sending the point guard to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team deal that brought back D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.
L.A. then added some frontcourt depth by trading Beverley to the Orlando Magic for Mo Bamba.
With the Magic being another young team in the midst of a rebuild, they didn’t have much use for Beverley and unsurprisingly bought out the remainder of his expiring contract.
Beverley was expected to garner interest from a variety of different contenders looking to add a defense-first guard that can space the floor a bit.
It appears he has found a new home, and it is the place where he grew up as according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Beverley is signing with the Chicago Bulls for the rest of the season:
Bulls want Beverley to bring some ferocity to the court and locker room — and now bring back the guard out of John Marshall HS home to Chicago. Beverley’s agent Kevin Bradbury now confirms that deal is imminent. https://t.co/7pchBSPYzs
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 20, 2023
This is a nice fit for Beverley, who will get to play for his hometown team while fighting for a playoff spot in the crowded Eastern Conference.
In 45 games for the Lakers this season, Beverley has averaged 6.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 34.8% from 3-point range. In Beverley’s final 27 games though, he shot 42.4% from deep after a slow start to the season.
Knowing Beverley’s mentality, he will be looking to get some revenge next time he takes the court against the Lakers and he will get two opportunities to do so this season with L.A. playing the Bulls on March 26 and 29 in a home-and-home back-to-back. With backcourt defenders like Beverley and Alex Caruso, that should be a tough matchup for the Lakers as they look to get back in postseason contention.
Westbrook to sign with Clippers
Beverley isn’t the only former Laker that has a new home as it was also reported on Monday morning that Westbrook is signing with the L.A. Clippers.
Both guys decided to sign with their hometown teams after being bought out by the teams the Lakers traded them to.
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