KOBE WINGSPAN UPGRADE
KOBE WINGSPAN SERIES

That’s part of the reason why his teams have made the postseason in eight of his ten seasons.Ī hard-nosed (at times reckless) playing style has led to Beverley sustaining several injuries, which has to be a significant concern for the Lakers after having James and Anthony Davis miss significant chunks of the last two seasons.

KOBE WINGSPAN UPGRADE

He has been selected to three All-Defensive Teams, the last coming in ’19/20, and though he isn’t quite as good as he once was, he’s still a major backcourt upgrade on that end.īeverley also brings a relentless energy, effort, toughness and competitiveness that’s hard to quantify with stats, but is certainly impactful. Corner threes are particularly important for floor spacing, so he should help in that regard.īeverley also takes care of the ball, posting a 3.54-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in ’21/22, and is a tenacious offensive rebounder, creating extra possessions seemingly out of nowhere.ĭefense has been Beverley’s calling card throughout his career and is the main reason why he’s about to enter his 11 th NBA season.

But while he has his share of limitations on offense, he’s self-aware and typically doesn’t try to do too much, which is a valuable trait in a role player.īeverley holds a career mark of 37.8% from beyond the arc, which is above average, and he’s even better from the corners, nailing 40% of those shots in his career. He’s the exact type of guard who has typically thrived alongside James throughout his career, fitting the mold of a three-and-D player who doesn’t need the ball to be effective.īeverley certainly isn’t the most talented scorer, with a career average of 8.8 points per game.

He played with good energy and effort last season, but he’s a very limited offensive player who is about league-average defensively, so it’s not like he’ll be sorely missed.Īt 34 years old, Beverley is probably past his peak, but he’s certainly a short-term upgrade and a much better fit for the way the Lakers’ roster is constructed. Johnson was mainly included in the deal for salary-matching purposes, as the Lakers needed to add another $75K to Horton-Tucker’s salary to make the trade legal. He has the tools to be a good defender, but he was inconsistent on that end as well, which isn’t unusual for a young player. The problem is, while he possesses some unique attributes, he needs the ball in his hands to be most effective on offense, and with ball-dominant players like James and Russell Westbrook on the roster, those opportunities were always going to be limited.Ĭomplicating matters further is the fact that Horton-Tucker has been a poor outside shooter to this point (26.9% on three-pointers last season, 27.6% for his career), which hurt the team’s offensive spacing. Horton-Tucker is still just 21 years old, so he certainly has some untapped upside. However, after LeBron James signed an extension, the team felt more comfortable making a win-now move to improve its roster. Marc Stein reported last week that the Lakers were initially reluctant to trade Horton-Tucker for Beverley as the front office was emphasizing youth and athleticism to revamp the roster after a disappointing ‘21/22 season that saw L.A. Both Beverley and Johnson are on expiring deals, while Horton-Tucker has a player option for 2023/24. On August 25, the Jazz traded Patrick Beverley to the Lakers in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson. Let’s dive into a deal between the Lakers and Jazz…

KOBE WINGSPAN SERIES

As opposed to giving out grades, this series will explore why the teams were motivated to make the moves. This is the tenth installment in our series breaking down the major trades of the 2022 offseason.

Kobe wingspan