'Your opinion of me will change': Beverley excited to return home, lead Bulls' playoff push
Patrick Beverley believes he's misunderstood, but is also very self-aware.
The veteran guard previewed his journey back to his hometown and decision to join the Bulls on his "Pat Bev Podcast."
"You know me, I'm going to be on Zach LaVine's butt, I'm going to give him all the energy he needs," Beverley said. "Destroy people. Me and DeMar DeRozan, we're good. (Nikola) Vucevic, I'm excited, man, I'm really excited."
Beverley, 34, is a South Side native who played at Marshall High School.
During 11 NBA seasons, he's developed a reputation for being an aggressive defender with a tendency to annoy opponents, and he's not afraid to speak out.
"It's hard to judge me from all the outside stuff," he said on the podcast. "A lot of people think what I do is put on a lot of antics and all that extra (stuff). But when in reality, when I'm on your team and I'm your teammate, I'm your player and you're my coach, you get a different vibe, like 'This (guy), he'll do anything for the team.'
"Just be around me four or five days. Your opinion of me will change. I'm the guy on the team who sends his teammates scouts (scouting reports) that the coaches don't send. I send them every game, don't miss a game, to the whole team, even the coaching staff."
Beverley said the Bulls have been interested for a few years and this time, his decision was between the Bulls and Warriors. After playing for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, Beverley was traded to Orlando on Feb. 9 and released, which left him available to sign with any team.
"I figured I can make a playoff push with the Bulls right now and kind of pump them up a little bit," he said. "The East is kind of weak. You feel me? Not to disrespect anybody's league, but a lot of people went to the West. So I'm excited, man, I'm excited."
When the idea of the Bulls tanking to try to salvage their 2023 first-round draft pick was mentioned, Beverley brushed it off. He said one of his missions will be to try to knock the Lakers out of the playoffs, since they'll face the Bulls twice in March.
"Heck no. They didn't bring me here to tank," Beverley said. "You know me, I impact winning."
Beverley was in Paris this week on vacation. He said the plan was to fly back to Los Angeles, then be in Chicago by Wednesday. The Bulls' next game is Friday at home against Brooklyn.
In the last 25 games he played for the Lakers, Beverley shot 42.6% from 3-point range, while averaging 7.9 points and 2.7 assists.
"The last couple months, I've been playing arguably some of the best basketball I've ever played in the NBA," he said. "To play for your city with that jersey, there's no telling what I might do. I might be so hype, I might do (stuff) I've never seen myself do. I'm not going to put a tag on it.
"If you think I went hard for other things, just imagine how I'm going to go hard for this one, man. I'm excited. My mom's excited, my family's excited, my friends are excited. I know the Bulls are excited. I just can't wait to get (stuff) started. This (stuff) going to be lit."
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