“They throw me a number, and I felt it was borderline disrespectful” - Patrick Beverley on why he requested a trade from the LA Clippers
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley said he decided to leave the LA Clippers because he believed he deserved better as a player, on Thursday's “The Old Man & Three” podcast.
Beverly said:
“I’m thinking contract extension, I’m thinking it's gonna be easy. You know, I walk in and they throw me a number, and I felt it was borderline disrespectful.”
Patrick Beverley on why he requested trade out of LA
Patrick Beverley said he felt the number was disrespectful, because when he got there he “changed it all up” for the LA Clippers. He said:
"When me, Lou and Trez got to the Clippers, I felt like we, you know … we wanted to kind of have our own identity. And when we got there, it’s like we changed it all up. And then we, you know, you summed it up, we in the Western Conference finals, something the team's never done.”
Beverley said that because he and his teammates brought the team to a place they had never been before, he thought he deserved a higher salary. After feeling disrespected, he wanted a trade. He said Minnesota was a “top three spot” for him in where had had hoped to land.
During his four seasons with the Clippers, Beverley averaged 8.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks. Known for being aggressive on defense with his play and his chatter, Beverley is no stranger to speaking his mind.
Beverley, Daniel Oturu and Rajon Rondo were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Eric Bledsoe on Aug. 16. Nine days later, Beverly was traded to the Timberwolves in exchange for Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez.
Beverley talked about signing a 1-year, $13 million contract extension on Feb. 16:
“I’m in a vibe right now. I’m in a vibe right now, baby, for real. Life is good, man. It really is.”
Beverley is averaging 9.1 points, 4.3 rebuonds and 4.9 assists this season. Although Minnesota (38-29) is seventh in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves are ahead of the Clippers (35-33) and Lakers (28-37). His trade request seems to have worked out in his favor as his current team holds a .567 winning percentage to the Clippers' .515.
The last time the Clippers and the Timberwolves met was Jan. 3, with the Timberwolves winning 122-104. The teams will not play again for the remainder of the season.