Los Angeles Lakers Pull Off Trade For Veteran, Acquire Patrick Beverley From Utah Jazz

The Los Angeles Lakers finally have their acquired veteran piece via trade.

As reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Lakers are acquiring veteran point guard Patrick Beverley from the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Talen Horton-Tucker and forward Stanley Johnson. Beverley had previously been traded to the Jazz in the massive Rudy Gobert traded with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The move isn’t exactly a surprise as Beverley had previously indicated his interest in joining forces with LeBron James before he calls it a career. He also stated his desire to play for the Lakers multiple times during the offseason.

To top it off, Beverley seemed to potentially hint at a looming trade to the Lakers on Aug. 15 when he posted a prayers hand emoji to the news of an early season Lakers-Los Angeles Clippers matchup. The 34-year-old guard previously played for the Clippers for four seasons from 2017 until 2021 before he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves last offseason.

Although he’s diminutive in stature (6-foot-1, 180 pounds), Beverley is one of the toughest defensive players in the league. The veteran guard is a three-time All-Defensive Team selection and is an experienced playoff performer, having started 54 of his 65 career games in the playoffs.

As noted by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Beverley has held opponents to 41.9 percent shooting from the field over the past five seasons as the closest defender, the second-best mark among players who have defended at least 2,000 shots.

The Lakers obviously made this move in an attempt to contend this season. They’ll part ways with their top young player in Horton-Tucker and one of the few bright spots of a dark season last year in Johnson. Los Angeles had previously resisted the idea of trading the 21-year-old Horton-Tucker, even once refusing to include him in trade discussions for Kyle Lowry. However, the Lakers became more open to the idea of trading Horton-Tucker when he became their only tradable asset during last season’s free-fall.

Meanwhile, Johnson departs after revived his career with the Lakers. The former No. 8 overall draft selection was initially signed to a 10-day contract before eventually signing a two-year deal and emerging as a starter before season’s end, starting 27 of his 48 appearances.

The Lakers allowed 112.8 points per 100 possessions last season, ranking 21st in the league. For perspective, Los Angeles had previously built a winning program through a defensive identity when they won the championship in 2020, ranking third (106.3 defensive rating) and first in defensive rating (107.1) during the 2020-21 season.

Among full-time perimeter players on the Lakers, not a single individual posted better than Beverley’s 111 defense rating last season. Outside of his established defensive resume, Beverley also just so happens to be an effective 3-point shooter, knocking down 37.8% of his career attempts and 38.5% of his catch-and-shoot attempts last season.

The move also benefits the Lakers from a salary cap standpoint as Beverley is on an expiring $13 million deal. Meanwhile, Horton-Tucker has two years at over $21 million remaining on his deal.

With the acquisition of Beverley, the Lakers now have a starter capable of replacing Russell Westbrook at point guard.

The move comes after weeks of speculation linking the Lakers to possible deals for the Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving and the Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. However, the Lakers were unable to gain traction on trade talks due to their unwillingness to include a first-round draft pick as part of possible deals. With Kevin Durant rescinding his trade request and deciding to return to the Nets, it looks like Irving will be back in the fold as Brooklyn runs it back.

The 2022-23 Lakers certainly don’t look the part of a championship contender just yet, but that could change before the start of the season if they’re able to trade Westbrook in a potential deal for Turner and Hield.