Chicago Bulls guard Patrick Beverley seems to have a lot to say about the Los Angeles Lakers since being traded from the team ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline. First, Beverley said he wanted to knock the Lakers out of the playoffs, as he and the Bulls face L.A. twice in March. Now, he's sharing a bit more information about the trade that eventually landed him on his hometown team.
During an episode of "The Pat Bev Podcast," Beverley said that while it may have seemed from the outside like he got shipped off to Orlando, the veteran guard implied that he requested the trade from the Lakers.
"To some people it could be that Pat Bev got traded, in all reality it was like, 'No I didn't like what was going on, and let's find a better home for me,'" Beverley said. "Not that, 'He ain't good enough, let's get rid of him.' All that s--- was my decision. You gotta think, I'm making a decision that was my decision. They honor my request, but at the same time now I'm sitting here without a home. It just hit a little different."
Well, that's an interesting read on the situation. Beverley certainly wouldn't be the first player to request a trade from a team, and Thomas Bryant reportedly also requested a trade from the Lakers at the deadline for a chance at a bigger role. Bryant ultimately got dealt to the Denver Nuggets. It's not uncommon for veteran players to ask for trades for an opportunity to chase a championship, so if Beverley did request a trade from L.A. it wouldn't be the most outlandish thing to happen.
However, it is a surprising development to the story, given that when the Lakers traded Russell Westbrook for D'Angelo Russell, Beverley tweeted excitement at the possibility of rejoining his former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate. Beverley tweeted "the gang is back," after the deal was reported. Beverley was then traded to the Magic for Mo Bamba the following day, and then agreed to a buyout shortly after.
When asked to confirm that he requested a trade from the Lakers, Beverley said yes, but didn't get into details.
"Yeah, but we'll dive into that a little later," Beverley said. "We'll dive into that a little deeper later on in the season when I take care of a little more business, before I get to telling everybody the spades in my hand."
Sounds like a cliffhanger. Perhaps Beverley is waiting until after the Bulls face the Lakers twice in March before sharing all the information about his supposed trade request, as to not give L.A. any motivation in those meetings. Whatever the reason, we'll have to wait and see what he decides to share later on down the road.
