The Los Angeles Lakers are set to complete a trade for former Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley, according to ESPN. On Thursday morning, Beverley appeared to confirm the news. “Woke up a Laker!!!” he wrote on Twitter.
The Lakers are understood to be sending Talen Horton-Tucker and forward Stanley Johnson to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Beverley. Utah acquired Beverley from the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of the Rudy Gobert trade this offseason.
Beverley averaged 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists last year for Minnesota and helped lead them to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The Lakers need players who can knock down their shots, and Beverley is solid from three-point range: across his entire regular-season NBA career he is 37.8% from beyond the arc.
Beverley is known for his intensity and defense, two areas the Lakers struggled with last season as they missed the playoffs. The 34-year-old will bring both: he is known for his scrappiness and has made the NBA’s All-Defensive second team twice and the first team once.
Beverley has never been shy about his desire to play alongside LeBron James in LA. In May, he was asked if he would be open to moving to the Lakers. “[If I was a free agent], I wouldn’t even hesitate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are losing 21-year-old Horton-Tucker, who the team saw enough potential in to give a three-year, $30.8m contract last season, despite his inconsistent scoring. However, Lakers fans may be more upset about losing Johnson. The hard-working 26-year-old was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise disappointing 2021-22 season for the Lakers. Now he will have a chance to prove himself in Utah.