#patrick-beverley

#patrick-beverley

If you ask three Chicago Bulls fans off the street about their opinions on head coach Billy Donovan, you'll almost certainly receive three wildly different responses.Despite his controversial status among the fandom - admit it, we always blame the coach first - Donovan has garnered quite a respected reputation around the league.

Following a disappointing season, the Washington Wizards may be looking to make some big moves this offseason.With no trade assets and what will likely end up being a late lottery pick, it seems like one of the better areas to do so would be free agency.Currently, the Wizards are set to extend Kristaps Porzingis and re-sign Kyle Kuzma each to deals upwards of $20 million per year.

The Washington Wizards are in a dilemma.They have an incredibly talented big three but lack the money to sign any big free agents.Unfortunately, this includes most role players as the Wiz will likely be restricted to the mid-level exception in any contract negotiations unless they let Kyle Kuzma and/or Kristaps Porzingis go.

What you need to know: The Lakers and the Denver Nuggets open the NBA Western Conference finals Tuesday night at Ball Arena in Denver.The series is a rematch of the 2020 Western Conference finals, won by the Lakers in five games.The Lakers reached this season's Western Conference finals by eliminating the Golden State Warriors in six games.

LeBron James had missed the previous three games because of left ankle soreness, which led to an MRI exam on the ankle and his foot last Thursday that showed "no structural damage," the Lakers forward said after playing 29 minutes and 13 seconds on Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com

On Saturday morning, Lakers star and possible soon-to-be retiree LeBron James took to Twitter with a simple question: "This Eric Lewis [poop emoji] true???", capping the whole thing off with an emoji of a face with one eyebrow raised.This naturally led to questions from some fans who are less online during the offseason, queries like "What Eric Lewis [poop emoji]?" and "Who is Eric Lewis?"
Luckily for them - or, presumably, you, if you're reading this article - after showing you the LeBron tweet in question, I have decided to spend my Saturday trying to answer these questions for you and more.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

A wall of video cameras surrounded Nikola Jokic as reporters piled around the two-time MVP after the Nuggets finished their final practice before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.All eyes were on him.And for Lakers coach Darvin Ham, that's a problem.

On the heels of a big win to start the road trip for the Lakers on Wednesday, LeBron James certainly was in a jovial mood in the locker room.The moment that fans loved most near the conclusion of the game was Austin Reaves dropping the "too small" gesture on Patrick Beverley in a sweet bit of revenge.

In the closing stages of Sunday's loss by the Lakers against the Bulls, Patrick Beverley did what he does best and started trolling.It was a bold move for a man that was going to see the same team again three days later and one that, shockingly, didn't pan out well for him.But on a list of players to get revenge for the Lakers in this situation, I doubt many would have had Austin Reaves doing the deed.

The Full Go returns as Jason discusses how he intends to view Cubs and White Sox baseball this season (02:08).He details why things are brighter in Wrigley with the Cubs and why the White Sox are unbeatable with a healthy pitching staff.After a dominant showing against the Lakers, the Bulls dropped the following game against the Clippers, and Jason details why these two games perfectly sum up his season-long frustration with the Bulls (26:09).

The Lakers hadn't been in this position since Oct. 20, the last time their basketball team was one win away from evening their record at .500.That was the second game of the regular season.A lot has changed since then.In that loss to the Clippers, Russell Westbrook missed all 11 of his shots, Patrick Beverley made only one in seven tries and four of the five reserves who logged minutes are no longer on the roster.

As their postseason run continues, the Los Angeles Lakers have made a decision that if they do win three more rounds of the NBA playoffs and claim their 18th banner, no players' contributions will have been too small to celebrate; not even Patrick Beverley.They will all get championship rings.This is pretty much exactly what we predicted on this site back when Beverley reiterated that both he and Russell Westbrook would want some jewelry if their former team won the title, and TNT sideline reporter Chris Haynes confirmed as much during the network's pregame broadcast on Monday:

"They [Lakers] would extend a championship ring to ALL players who were on the roster at any point during this season."

On Tuesday, it was announced that the Memphis Grizzlies will not re-sign small forward Dillon Brooks 'under any circumstances'.This is an incredibly harsh statement to be made publicly the way it was.The Memphis Grizzlies have informed pending free agent Dillon Brooks that he will not be brought back under any circumstances, league sources say.

(Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press)

Austin Reaves got the basketball on a dribble handoff from Anthony Davis with Patrick Beverley trailing on the Lakers' guard hip.Reaves took three dribbles into the lane and shot a runner over Beverley.Then came the moment of moments from the rapidly improving and evolving Reaves.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Paul George doesn't know when he will be ready to return from his sprained right knee, "but I'm gonna do whatever I can do to shorten the process," the All-Star forward said on his podcast.His Clippers also are not in any position to make long-term plans - but they're trying to do whatever they can to extend how long they are playing, just in case a return is possible.

Yesterday, Patrick Beverley made sure to let Lebron know that he's too small.Tonight the Bulls are staying in LA to face the Clippers at Crypto.comArena in the second night of a back-to-back for Chicago.Is Pat Bev going to bring that same energy against Kawhi Leonard and another one of his former teams?

LOUISVILLE, Ky.Inevitably, there will be a moment on Sunday when Creighton's Arthur Kaluma, a silky, skilled 6-foot-7 sophomore, is isolated against San Diego State's Adam Seiko, a compact, rugged 6-foot-3 senior, each desperately intent on taking their teams to the Final Four for the first time.It won't be the first time they lock eyes and fiercely attack one another.

Dan Greenberg of BSS believes that all of the available wings signing elsewhere means the lone forward remaining on the open market, Will Barton, could be bound to sign with the Boston Celtics after the Wizards cut him loose from his expiring $14.3 million salary for this season.Terrence Ross signed with the Suns, Danny Green joined the Cavaliers, and Justin Holiday agreed to terms with the Mavericks - leaving Barton is the remaining wing.

A fan-favorite last year, Stanley Johnson has once again bounced around the league after being traded by the Lakers.Could he return to the Lakers this season?And just how unfair were the Nets in their trade talks with the Lakers?Those are the topics of the headlines and rumors for today's roundup.Stanley Johnson reunion
In a season full of dull moments, one of the bright spots was Johnson.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA.Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Los Angeles Lakers fans and fans across the country.Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.Months and months of waiting, plotting, and planning by Rob Pelinka - too much of it for most fans - finally led to the Lakers uncorking at the trade deadline and pulling off a number of trades to completely reshape the roster.

UPDATE (12:00 p.m. ET): Love and the Cavaliers agreed to a buyout, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.The Heat remain favorites to sign love, but he will be talking with the Philadelphia 76ers first.In order to sign Love, the Sixers would have to clear a roster spot - Dewayne Dedmon ($580K) being the most realistic candidate.

Across his many years in the NBA, Patrick Beverley has accrued a rival or two along the way.Russell Westbrook went from fiercest villain to best of friends (allegedly) this season, leaving really only one man to capture Pat Bev's ire.Damian Lillard.The two have had some memorable run-ins but none more so in the bubble when the Clippers and Blazers jawed at one another throughout.

After losing four straight games, the Los Angeles Lakers snapped that ignominious streak and earned a much-needed win against the Orlando Magic, 129-110, on Tuesday.Everything went right for the Lakeshow.Patrick Beverley had his best game as a Laker with 14 points, including going 4 for 10 from deep.

Most anyone who has followed the NBA over the last decade probably had the same thought when the Lakers acquired Patrick Beverley this summer while still having Russell Westbrook on the roster."Oh buddy!"
Westbrook has made a lot of enemies during his time in the league but Beverley has been his arch-nemesis for years.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA.Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Los Angeles Lakers fans and fans across the country.Sign up here to participate.Given how last season played out, few, if anyone, would have anticipated Russell Westbrook to have a season like he is in the midst of.

After finalizing a contract buyout with the Utah Jazz, 11-year veteran Russell Westbrook is joining the Los Angeles Clippers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.Prior to the end of the trade deadline, the nine-time All-Star guard was dealt from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Utah Jazz and will now suit up for the Lakers' crosstown counterparts.

Of the many disappointing aspects of the Lakers season, one that sticks out toward the top has been the play of Patrick Beverley.On paper, the acquisition of PatBev made lots of sense, giving the Lakers a 3-and-D guard that can play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis and provide the team a toughness it previously lacked.

Draymond Green re-booted his podcast and dropped a bomb about the aftermath of his altercation with Jordan Poole.After news broke that Green had punched Poole during practice on Oct. 5 and video of the punch was subsequently leaked, Green recorded a podcast to tell his side of the story.Ultimately, he decided not to publish the podcast.

There are three certainties in life.Death
     Taxes
     The Lakers being interested in acquiring Terrence Ross for the Magic.Pick a year and the Lakers probably expressed interest in trading for Ross.They did in 2018.They did in 2019.Even as recently as earlier this year, the Lakers discussed trading for Ross around the trade deadline for last season.

The frustration with the Lakers front office this season has largely centered on their hesitance to do a Russell Westbrook trade.After spending a summer shopping him without agreeing to a deal, the team then set an arbitrary 20-game mark before they'd look for a deal in-season.As we all know, that deadline came and passed on Wednesday, but not before the Lakers pushed the mark back to Dec. 15.

The Washington Wizards are in a precarious position at the moment as they topple between contending for a title and contending for Victor Wembanyama.Either choice is entirely valid, however, retooling may be a better option than rebuilding going into trade season.The Wizards are in a fantastic place right now when it comes to star talent, they even have some incredible bargain contracts.

With recent rumors and reports that Patrick Beverley is available in trade talks, this is the opportunity for the Washington Wizards to take the next step into becoming a contending team.He is exactly what the Wizards need.The Wizards have had an issue staying aggressive at times this season and often times almost seem like they don't want to be a great team, despite having more than enough talent to do so.