The Lakers wanted Kyrie Irving, but they got Patrick Beverley
The Lakers are a hot mess.
In a season where LA expressed hopes of acquiring Kyrie Irving and a move from Russell Westbrook, the iconic franchise settled for Patrick Beverley and parted ways with Talen Horton-Tucker. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers will also send Stanley Johnson to the Jazz in the purchase of Beverley.
Beverley is a good player for what he brought going to court, but when you previously had your eye on Irving all summer, then befriended Pat Bev, it was a serious letdown. Irving will add another All-Star that can give you 25ppg, although you have to be ready to deal with all that comes with him. In Beverley, the Lakers get a defender and the guy will run his mouth nonstop. This is not exactly a needle move sale. The craziest part is that the Lakers trade two players for one 30-something Small defenders are not known to score. Rob Pelinka at his best.
Historically, when the Lakers set their sights on a star player, they often found their way. Nothing is 100 percent, but Lakeshow has won a lot of championships after trezling teams other than their star players.
We could go back to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to LA from Milwaukee, Shaquille O’Neal from Orlando, Pau Gasol from Memphis, Dwight Howard from Orlando (with help from Denver and Philly), and even LeBron James a few years back. before, even though he signed through free agency. LA then changed the farm to New Orleans to Anthony Davis a year later.
Kobe Bryant also falls under this umbrella of Laker acquisitions, even though he played his entire career in Los Angeles. The Lakers were able to work out a deal with Charlotte where they’d draft Kobe and then trade his rights to LA for Vlade Divac. While it certainly didn’t feel like it then, this may be one of the biggest robberies in NBA history.
One time the Lakers didn’t get that big star was the Chris Paul deal. In 2011 Paul to the Lakers was all but official until David Stern joined to silence that noise. So the Lakers don’t always get their man, but they’ve built up a pretty good track record when it comes to getting the one they want.
So it’s strange that the Lakers don’t get their way. They’ve gone through a downturn like any other organization, but the Lakers usually do when it’s time to bring in that next star.
Another aspect of this Beverley deal is his relationship with Westbrook. These guys haven’t been close to each other over the years, and now it looks like they might be playing on the same stage. LA was unsuccessful in finding a commercial destination for Russ, like that is not sure he will accept any buyback offer. The man wanted all the money guaranteed in his contract, and I can’t blame him for that.
That put the Lakers in a pretty tough spot because they couldn’t trade or buy Russ outright. So they’re really stuck with an aging star that doesn’t fit what a LeBron-focused attack requires, which is to shoot. Most of us called this last summer when the deal was announced, but the King got what he wanted. And the test failed miserably. Now the team has one more person in Beverley that Westbrook isn’t interested in.
On top of that, the Lakers eliminated Horton-Tucker to get Pat Bev. Horton-Tucker was supposed to be the next breakout star in Los Angeles just a year ago. He was supposed to be the new third pick behind James and Davis at one point, and now he’s heading to Utah. Good luck with that.
One thing we can’t accuse the Lakers of is boredom, especially during the King James era. They failed in the play-ins last season and have been talked about in a number of spots throughout the summer. If the upcoming season is nothing else, it will be full of drama. Again, there aren’t too many LeBron teams that haven’t been filled with drama in his career.
It comes with territory.