Desperation

The Lakers didn’t want 34-year old guard Patrick Beverly anymore, so they bought out his contract. The Bulls signed Beverly on Wednesday. From what I read, Beverly is bringing all sorts of energy to his new team, which also happens to be his hometown team. (As a rule, Chicago teams don’t know about Chicago players, much less sign them.) Today’s Tribune noted how, in just his first Bulls’ practice, Beverly challenged Zach LaVine to shoot more—really, that’s LaVine’s problem, not shooting the ball enough?—while offering words of advice to Ayo Dosunmu, who may be playing less with a new-old guy in town. Beverly is known for his defense and, like I said, energy; he also has a reputation for trash-talking. So, given that the Lakers are all of one game better than the Bulls, why did they let Beverly go? They have enough defense, energy and potty-mouths on hand? As for the Bulls, it’s hard to see them stealing a player from the opposition; more the other way around (see Wendell Carter Jr. and Daniel Gafford). Desperate teams do desperate things. I’d say that pretty much applies to both the Lakers and Bulls here.