The Los Angeles Lakers kickstarted trade season when they acquired Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards this past week.
Hachimura’s debut came a couple of days later to much success as he helped lead the Lakers to a win over the San Antonio Spurs. The 24-year-old later acknowledged he loved the energy in his first game with the team and enjoyed playing next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
However, the Lakers have more moves to make outside of Hachimura if they want to bolster their playoff chances. In an appearance on ESPN’s “This Just In,” Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that the next move for the Lakers may involve trading Patrick Beverley for an upgrade at the guard position:
“So I can see them using Beverley, flipping his expiring contract for a guy with money on his deal. They possibly could look at some other players in those types of trades, maybe Lonnie Walker, he’s got value. The other one is what everybody wants to talk about. The idea that they could trade the two first-round picks in the future and maybe Russell Westbrook for a superstar player. Rob Pelinka talked about this possibility a couple of days ago that that’s what they’re looking for. And it was funny because when I talked to league executives over the last 24 hours they say, ‘Oh, the Lakers would trade a bunch of draft picks for a player to make them championship quality? That’s breaking news, we all would trade for a player to make us championship quality!’ But I would say that right now –and the key is right now, we’re in January 25 or whatever today is– we’re not at February 9. Right now, I don’t see a potential trade on the market. Maybe there will be something in early February, but I think it’s more likely for the Lakers to look for a Beverley flip than there is to be a blockbuster deal at this point.”
Beverley has perked up the past few weeks on both ends of the floor, though he is generally still seen as a negative due to his size and shaky offensive showings. The Lakers could use another knock-down shooter or true 3-and-D wing, and with Beverley making about $13 million this year he is the most likely player to be moved ahead of the deadline.
Patrick Beverley and Damian Lillard exchange jabs on social media
What makes Beverley endearing to fans and hated by others is his penchant for riling up opposing players. There’s no better example than in the Lakers’ win against the Portland Trail Blazers where he was seen jawing at Damian Lillard.
After the game, the two continued their beef by exchanging jabs on social media.
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