Lakers Rumors: Patrick Beverley, NBA Draft Pick Traded to Magic for Mo Bamba
Patrick Beverley's time with the Los Angeles Lakers didn't even last one season.
Los Angeles traded the guard to the Orlando Magic for center Mo Bamba on Thursday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Charania reported a second-round pick will also go to Orlando.
Earlier Thursday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers sent Thomas Bryant to the Denver Nuggets, which created a void for them at backup center. The 7'0" Bamba provides the size Los Angeles lost with Bryant out the door.
According to Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel, it will officially go down as a four-team trade:
The Lakers already shook up their backcourt in a three-team deal that sent Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz and brought D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to L.A.
It looked like Beverley might be safe, but his future remained murky throughout the year given the team's struggles. Jovan Buha of The Athletic told Allen Sliwa on ESPN LA's Lakers Talk radio show in November that Beverley and Kendrick Nunn were two players who could be traded (h/t Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen & Roll).
The Lakers traded Nunn to the Washington Wizards in January in the deal for Rui Hachimura.
Buha's comments also came shortly after ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported "there is belief shared by leaders in the Lakers' locker room, sources said, that the team is only a couple of players away from turning this group into a legitimate contender."
That may have seemed like a stretch considering the Purple and Gold were 7-11 at the time and not even in position to make the Western Conference play-in tournament, but it also presented the front office with a tricky line to walk. Should it make a move and go for a playoff run this season, or should it recognize that this group wasn't a realistic championship contender and avoid sacrificing future draft assets and hurting any rebuilding efforts?
Having now transformed the roster, general manager Rob Pelinka decided swapping Beverley for Bamba helped address what became a glaring need.
The journeyman guard has also played for the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves throughout his career and is best known for his physical style of defense. He has also been a solid three-point shooter at times and connected on 39.7 percent of his triples as recently as 2020-21 when he was a member of the Clippers.
Beverley hit 34.8 percent of his three-pointers this season for the Lakers. As a team, the Lakers have struggled to hit from the outside. They're 26th leaguewide at 33.8 percent.
Beverley is averaging 6.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game this season and wasn't a massive contributor for a Lakers team that has struggled to live up to expectations.
Perhaps a change of scenery can help as the Arkansas product looks to help a young Magic squad continue to develop, provided they don't buy him out.
