Lakers Rumors: Patrick Beverley, NBA Draft Pick Traded to Magic for Mo Bamba | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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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, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Charania reported a second-round pick will also go to Orlando.

This comes after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers sent Thomas Bryant to the Denver Nuggets, which created a void in the backup center spot. The 7’0″ Bamba provides the size Los Angeles lost with Bryant out the door.

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 has 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 SB Nation).

Nunn was traded to the Washington Wizards in January in the deal that brought Rui Hachimura to Los Angeles.

The idea of the smaller trades was the front office could clear up some money, perhaps not be forced to attach multiple future first-round draft picks in deals and even keep Westbrook in the rotation since he had found his footing as someone anchoring the second unit as a sixth man.

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 something of 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 isn’t a realistic championship contender and avoid sacrificing future draft assets and hurting any rebuilding efforts?

Having 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.

A dropoff from deep is par for the course for a Los Angeles team that has struggled to hit from the outside and is 26th in the league at 33.8 percent. That there is so much open space created by playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis only exacerbates the concern.

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.