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Patrick Beverley is headed home.
The veteran point guard is nearing a deal with the Chicago Bulls after agreeing to a buyout with the Orlando Magic, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Beverley, 34, was traded to the Magic from the Lakers at the trade deadline Feb. 9 in a four-team trade involving the Clippers and Nuggets. He secured the buyout just three days later.
With Beverley joining the Bulls, this is what the team’s depth chart will look like for the home stretch of the season.
- PG: Ayo Dosunmu / Patrick Beverley /Alex Caruso
- SG: Zach LaVine / Coby White / Goran Dragic
- SF: DeMar DeRozan / Patrick Williams
- PF: Patrick Williams / Derrick Jones Jr.
- C: Nikola Vucevic / Andre Drummond
Beverley, who attended John Marshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago, will help add some depth at a position of need for Chicago who have gone the entire season without the presence of Lonzo Ball.
Ball has been out for over a year after suffering a torn meniscus and is expected to be shut down for the rest of the season. He reportedly is still unable to run or cut.
A savvy veteran, Beverley will also be looked at to bring in some more leadership to Chicago and help mentor some of the team’s younger guards like Dosunmu and White.
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
Bulls want Beverley to bring some ferocity to the court and locker room — and now bring back the guard out of John Marshall HS home to Chicago. Beverley’s agent Kevin Bradbury now confirms that deal is imminent. https://t.co/7pchBSPYzs
Beverley was starting for the Lakers ahead of the trade deadline and has been a starter for the majority of the last few seasons, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles his role if Billy Donovan asks him to come off the bench.
He is averaging 6.4 points, .26 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 34.8 percent from three.
Chicago have struggled this season after finishing as the six-seed in the East last year. The Bulls are 26-33 and have lost six games in a row going into the All-Star break. They are currently the 11th in the conference, two games back of Toronto for the final play-in slot.
