The Chicago Bulls’ most successful stint of the 2022-23 season came alongside Patrick Beverley. The veteran point guard signed with the organization off the buyout market and quickly cemented his position in the starting lineup.
Chicago rattled off a 14-9 record after Beverley appeared in his first game on Feb. 24. They also went on to pull off a big-time comeback against the Toronto Raptors in the Play-In Tournament before losing a tight battle to the Miami Heat. While no one would call Beverley a saving grace, he surely provided a spark for his hometown team. And he most recently sounded off on how frustrating it is to already see that spark flame out.
In a recent episode of The Pat Bev Podcast, the current 76ers guard gave his thoughts on the team’s early-season struggles, including their “players-only” discussion after opening night.
“I don’t like it because I’ve played under Billy D,” Beverley said. “Billy D is a great human being. Billy D is a great man. Billy D is a great coach. A great coach. Like, I really enjoyed playing for Billy D. His defensive sh*t, contest everything. But just his mannerisms, how he controls the team is great.
They bullshitting over there. For real. I don’t like that. I don’t like that because I came from that organization. We went 14-9 or 15-9.”
Beverley went on to say that he didn’t think leaving Billy Donovan out of the conversation was fair, and he also believes it makes the head coach look bad in the public eye. All things considered, it’s hard not to agree. As I asked in my initial post about the situation, Donovan should be a part of these early-season conversations, right? By excluding him, does that say something about what these players think of him?
Beverley also made it pretty clear that he thinks this Bulls team is capable of so much more. And he was hoping that more of his DNA would carry over into this season despite his departure.
“I’ve been in that locker room. I’ve been in that arena. I know what AC does to the game. I know how good Patrick Williams is, and he’s not scoring the ball at all. I understand a lot that’s going on. But you know you don’t like to see that because I like to think when I go to a basketball team I implement me on the team. I implement me, how I go about my daily life.”
Where a lot of Beverley’s frustration seems to stem from is the fact that he knows there is legitimate talent on this team. We know he isn’t one to hold things back, so no one would be surprised if he talked serious trash about this group. Instead, he seems to be giving the vibe that this group is just shooting themselves in the foot.
Now, do I think the Chicago Bulls would be better off if Beverley was on the team right now? No, not really. I’m also not mad about the fact that they let him walk in free agency. But what comments like these remind us is that he isn’t afraid to speak the truth. As far as I’m concerned, having more guys like that in the locker room never hurts.
You can watch The Pat Bev Podcast in the video below …
