Patrick Beverley Talks Bulls FA, Eyes $13-15M AAV in New Contract: 'Money Does Go Up'

Patrick Beverley will be a free agent this offseason after spending the 2022-23 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls, but he expects to make more money on the next contract he signs.

"My game hasn't dropped, so I don't think my number that I make this year should drop," he said on The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone (13:50 mark). "I made 13 [million dollars], but the money does go up, so my 13 this year would be 15 next year."

The guard was something of a journeyman this past season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves traded him to the Utah Jazz as part of the deal that brought Rudy Gobert to Minnesota last July. The Jazz then traded Beverley to the Lakers in August, but the Purple and Gold moved him to the Orlando Magic in February.

Orlando agreed to a contract buyout, which allowed him to sign with the Bulls.

Beverley will be 35 years old next season, so he may not get the contract offer he envisions. He was a solid but unspectacular three-point shooter at 33.5 percent this season and hasn't averaged double-figure scoring since the 2017-18 season when he was on the Los Angeles Clippers.

To be fair, any team that signs him would be adding him for his defense and not his offense. He is a three-time All-Defensive selection who rarely backs down from the challenge of guarding the opposing team's best ball-handler with a physical style of play.

Yet his defense will likely suffer some as he ages and loses athleticism.

Opponents actually shot 3.5 percent better from the field than their normal averages when he guarded them this past season, per NBA.com.

Whether numbers like that concern teams as he hits the open market remains to be seen, but Beverley seemed locked in on a number he is expecting as a free agent.