5 NBA players in need of a trade in 2018-19
4. Patrick Beverley
Patrick Beverley‘s contract for 2018-19 is non-guaranteed, which could make him a buyout candidate if he hits the open market in the near future. However, whether it’s via trade or waiver wire, it’s clear this 30-year-old defensive pit bull is on his way to a much-needed change of scenery.
The reason is the Los Angeles Clippers have a glut of players in the backcourt. Between him, Lou Williams, Milos Teodosic, the re-signed Avery Bradley, rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, rookie Jerome Robinson and Jawun Evans, the guard positions are overloaded.
Throw in the Clippers matching the New Orleans Pelicans’ offer for shooting guard Tyrone Wallace, plus the fact that they need to cut two players to get down to 15 contracts, and the pieces are starting to fall into place for Beverley to join a new team soon.
With Wallace, the Clippers have 17 contracts on roster nearing start of training camp. They will need to make some moves to get to 15 for opening night. https://t.co/1pzmk47P5m
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 6, 2018
The rookies look like the future of the position and aren’t going anywhere. Neither is Bradley after being re-signed, and Lou Will had a borderline All-Star season last year. It’ll come down to either Beverley, Teodosic or Evans being cut or traded, but Bev is an expiring, non-guaranteed contract, and probably has more on-court value.
Beverley was the team’s starter last year, but he only suited up for 11 games before a season-ending surgery on his meniscus. After missing that much time, and with the Clippers mostly focused on 2019 free agency, their objective for the upcoming season has changed a bit.
Los Angeles will still try to compete for a playoff spot, but this season is just a one-year stopgap until the bigger plans kick in. If the Clippers stay in the playoff hunt, Beverley could be useful, but he won’t be essential to their success. If they start losing games and the focus shifts to giving the youngsters minutes, he’ll be even more expendable.
In his last healthy season, he posted 9.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range and serving as one of the NBA’s most tenacious defenders. Beverley still has value and could really help a contender, especially on a $5 million expiring deal.