The Pat Bev Podcast, hosted by longtime NBA player Patrick Beverley, tweeted out a few days ago that he was mulling over a veteran’s minimum contract in the NBA or what they deemed, a historic offer overseas.
DEVELOPING: @patbev21 is currently weighing his options between a NBA Vet Minimum contract and a HISTORIC contract in Europe 💰
— Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) July 14, 2024
It was revealed on Tuesday that Beverley had chosen the overseas offer. The 36-year-old guard has agreed to join Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel. Terms of the deal are unclear as of this writing. Since the announcement of the agreement with the Israeli team, NBA teams that were interested in making a deal with him have been named.
Patrick Beverley’s Two NBA Suitors Revealed
Two Teams Were Interested In Veteran’s Minimum Deals
Per Christos Tsaltas of Sportal, two NBA teams were ready to give Beverley a veteran’s minimum contract to play for them in 2024-25. Those two teams are the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets.
Patrick Beverley received interest from Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets (veteran's minimum) over the last few days, but he prefered Hapoel Tel Aviv because of the challenge to win both Israel League and Eurocup, according to @SportalgrG source. #HapoelTelAviv #NBA
— Christos Tsaltas (@Tsaltas46) July 16, 2024
It is certainly understandable why the six-foot-two Beverley wouldn’t be interested in joining the Pistons. Detroit had the worst record in the NBA last season at 14-68, which was also a franchise-worst mark. While they were able to land a veteran in free agency, 32-year-old Tobias Harris, they paid him far more than a veteran’s minimum (two years, $52 million).
The Rockets would have been an intriguing option as an ascending team. They finished last season 41-41, a 19-win increase over 2022-23. Not only that, but Beverley is plenty familiar with Houston. His first five NBA seasons came with the Rockets from 2012-13 to 2016-17. In his final season with them, they reached the second round of the playoffs.
Beverley has spent the past 12 seasons in the NBA. Last season, he began with the Philadelphia 76ers before being dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks. Other than the three teams mentioned, Beverley has also donned the jerseys of the Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls. During his NBA career, he was named to three All-Defensive Teams.
If this is the end of the NBA road for Beverley, his last game won’t be remembered fondly. In Milwaukee’s first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers, he had a kerfuffle with a fan. It resulted in him throwing the ball in the stands multiple times. Beverley was set to be suspended for the first four games of the upcoming NBA season.
In 666 career NBA regular season games (518 starts), Beverley has per-game averages of 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals.
Beverley Has Previously Played Overseas Prior To NBA Career
It was in the 2009 NBA Draft, that Beverley was selected with the 42nd overall pick in the second round by the Lakers. They subsequently traded him to the Miami Heat. Miami cut him before the 2009-10 season began.
He began his post-draft playing career playing in Greece for a year, and then in Russia for two more. Beverley also played overseas before being drafted. He spent two years playing collegiately for Arkansas before he wasn’t allowed to play as a junior due to an academic issue. Beverley instead spent the 2008-09 season playing in Ukraine prior to entering the 2009 NBA Draft.
