NBA Trades: The 8 players most likely to be traded in 2023

NBA Trades: Patrick Beverly

After being acquired from the Utah Jazz in the offseason for Talen Horton-Tucker, Patrick Beverly was expected to be a key rotation player for the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, he’s been their worst rotation player this season. It isn’t all bad news; however, with his $13 million contract expiring, the Lakers can use his salary in a trade for a more useful player.

Toss in Kendrick Nunn and his $5.3 million expiring contract, and the Los Angeles Lakers would have enough outgoing salary to acquire players such as Bojan Bogdanovic, or Evan Fournier, and Cam Reddish. Bogdanovic, in particular, would give the Lakers a huge shooting boost and allow them to turn a negative player into a positive one.

That may not sound as appealing as a possible Lakers blockbuster deal, but with Anthony Davis out for at least a month and the team three games under 500, the Lakers require more immediate help. Assuming they can make an impactful trade, the Lakers are only a few tweaks away from being a playoff team once Davis returns, with him playing as well as he has.

They also have LeBron James and an otherwise capable supporting cast. Beverly is the missing piece to that, just not in the way we all thought.