5 best point guard upgrades for Bulls on the buyout market

2. Patrick Beverley

In one of the more surprising turns of events at the trade deadline, the Lakers pulled the trigger to acquire D’Angelo Russell from the Timberwolves. This would effectively push Patrick Beverley out of the rotation, so the Lakers flipped him to Orlando where he’d soon be bought out by the Magic.

Now Beverley’s services are certain to attract attention in the free agent market. Whether the 34-year-old veteran would prefer a large role or to chase his first championship ring, however, remains an uncertainty. Either way, the Bulls would be fools to not at least throw their hat in the ring and bring the Chicago-born talent home.

Fortunately, it appears we need not worry on that front.

Patrick Beverley is the type of veteran leader the Chicago Bulls sorely lack.

A year ago, Beverley would have been the highest player on this list for me. He made a substantial impact in Minnesota and helped elevate the Timberwolves into a true playoff team. From his play on the court to his leadership in the locker room, Pat Bev is exactly the type of player every team loves to have on their team and hates to play against.

Unfortunately, his shooting splits have dropped dramatically since his Clippers days two seasons ago and he hasn’t had the same two-way impact on the Lakers this year as he did in Minnesota. Beverley posted a career-high BPM  of 2.7 with the Timberwolves last season, but that number has since dropped all the way to -2.0 this time around. He’s still a positive on the defensive end, but not enough to outweigh a relatively awful offensive game. For that reason, he’s firmly No. 2 on this list for now.