Utah Jazz point guard Patrick Beverley made headlines when news emerged that the Los Angeles Lakers has agreed to a deal to sign him in a swap deal involving Tarlen Horton-Tucker. 

The point guard cut his stay in Utah short after joining them only a month and a half ago in July. He was part of a mega-deal involving Rudy Gobert, who joined the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Patrick Beverley had an impressive 2021-22 season with the Wolves, averaging 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists while making 58 appearances. The 34-year-old also ranked 61st among all current players in the league in the FiveThirtyEight’s WAR metric.

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KRIV’s Mark Berman reported earlier that the Chicago-born player did not mind being traded to the Utah Jazz, as he has been habituated to switching allegiances.

“Surprised? No, not in this business. Nah, you can’t be surprised,” Beverley said. “Understood it. Never personal, always business in this business. We did some great things in Minnesota. We kind of revamped the environment there. We kind of gave the fans something to be happy about,” he added.

The point guard was a second-round pick in the 2009 draft and made his professional debut in Europe before coming to the NBA when he signed for the Houston Rockets in the 2012-13 season. After spending five seasons with the Rockets, he went on to spend four more with Los Angeles Clippers, before signing for the Wolves.

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A University of Arkansas graduate, he has averaged 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals across 526 games in his career. He is known widely for his ability to guard the opposition’s top guard scorer, which helped him to earn NBA All-Defensive First Team honors in the 2016-17 season.

Lakers’ acquisition of Beverley is being seen as a low-risk investment, who has been handed a one-year contract worth $13 million. He comes in as the primary replacement for Russell Westbrook, who joined the Lakers in 2021.