Patrick Beverley has one goal in mind for the remainder of the season: keep the Los Angeles Lakers out of the playoffs. After being sent to the Orlando Magic ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline by the Lakers, the veteran guard agreed to a buyout with Orlando and signed with his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls this week.
While discussing the decision to sign with the Bulls on an episode of "The Pat Bev Podcast," Beverley called attention to the fact that Chicago still has two games on the schedule against the team that traded him in the Lakers. When asked what will go through his head as he and the Bulls take on the Lakers twice in March, Beverley was very succinct in his response.
"Knock them out the playoffs," Beverley said. "We gotta get in the playoffs, so excuse us, like a little elbow scooch."
Beverley has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind, so that comment comes as no surprise. Last season while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Beverley had a lot to say about the Los Angeles Clippers, the team he spent four seasons with, after the Wolves beat them in the play-in to secure a playoff spot.
"It's deeper than that for me, I gave my blood, sweat and tears to that organization," Beverley said about the Clippers. "To just be written off like that, 'oh he's injury prone, he's old,' to be able to come here, play them in a play-in and beat they ass, no other feeling [like it]."
Beverley's the type of player who has a perpetual chip on his shoulder, and is known for trash talking and trying to get in opposing player's heads. But it's not all just talk, Beverley is a three-time All-Defensive player, and while age has caught up to the 34-year-old a bit, the veteran guard can still be a pest to some of the best players in the league.
For the Bulls, he can provide a jolt of energy to a team that has struggled to find any sort of consistency this season. Sitting at 11th in the Eastern Conference, Chicago still has an opportunity to make the playoffs, though it'll likely be through the play-in round. While the Bulls face an uphill battle to get to the postseason, Beverley believes he can be what Chicago needs to get there.
"It's hard to judge me from all the outside stuff," Beverley said. "A lot of people think what I do is put on a lot of antics and all that extra s---. When in reality when I'm on your team and I'm your teammate, I'm a player and you're my coach, you get a different vibe: 'He'll do anything for the team.' You're gonna get that, you know me I'm gonna be on Zach LaVine's ass, I'm gonna give him all the energy he needs. Destroy people. Me and DeMar DeRozan we good. I got a [pick-and-pop] 5 in [Nikola] Vucevic. I'm excited."
As far as those matchups against the Lakers, the Bulls will head to Crypto.com arena on March 26, followed by a home game in Chicago against L.A. on March 29. Given Beverley's comments, he'll surely turn up the trash talking to his former teammates, making both of those matchups must-watch television.
