Free agent point guard Patrick Beverley is said to be seeking a three-year deal in the $40M range, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (via Twitter). According to MacMahon, the Mavericks, Bulls, Lakers and Clippers are expected to be among the suitors for Beverley.
Although Beverley earned just over $5M last season, it’s no surprise that he’ll be seeking a substantial raise. ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks recently suggested that the point guard would likely earn more than the mid-level ($9.25M), with Marks predicting that Beverley’s annual salary could end up as high as $14-15M. A three-year, $40M contract would be worth about $13.3MM annually.
The Mavericks have previously been cited as a probable suitor for Beverley, with one report suggesting that the two sides viewed one another as a “perfect fit.” As MacMahon notes, Beverley’s agent Bill Duffy also represents Luka Doncic and is “intrigued” by the possibility of pairing his two clients in Dallas. The Mavs project to have more than $29M in cap space.
The Bulls and Lakers have also been linked to Beverley, with reports indicating that there’s mutual interest between the veteran point guard and his hometown team in Chicago. The Bulls project to have about $23M in cap room and reportedly want to use some of it on a point guard. The Lakers’ situation remains very much in flux, but Beverley would make sense if the club plans to split up its cap room (likely $24-32M) on two or three players.
The Clippers, of course, would have interest in bringing back Beverley after he averaged 7.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 3.8 APG with a .407/.397/.780 and great defense in 78 games for the team last season. Like the Lakers, though, they’ll be pursuing bigger fish, so there may be timing issues if Beverley wants to make a quick decision.
