Patrick Beverley was a hit in the standings for the Bulls last season, but not so much in the locker room. Friday was a reminder of how much this Bulls team is missing a player with an edge, however.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
The lines get blurry with Patrick Beverley.
There’s Patrick Beverley the Chicago basketball player who walks it and talks it, and there’s Patrick Beverley the podcaster, seemingly looking to create his own material at times.
Which one is real?
Likely both are, and that was on full display in Milwaukee’s 113-97 blowout win over the Bulls Friday night at the United Center.
Beverley, who was a Bull for the second half of last season, came home to not only play irritant, but also score 14 points off the bench to help the Bucks win their fifth straight game.
He had run-ins with DeMar DeRozan and Ayo Dosunmu, and words with big man Nikola Vucevic.
All very familiar territory for Beverley.
The Bulls went 14-9 with Beverley last season, undoubtedly playing some of their best basketball of the 2022-23 campaign with the addition of the hometown kid. But not all was great in the locker room.
The Sun-Times reported last March that Vucevic was bothered with the finger pointing that instantly came to the surface with Beverley, and he wasn’t alone. Enough so that when the exit interviews took place between players and the front office it became apparent that Beverley – a free agent – couldn’t stay in the Bulls’ plans despite the success and Beverley’s desire to stay with the Bulls.
The fact that Beverley shot only 30.9% from three-point range made it easier to scoop up a Jevon Carter and sell that to the fan base as improving the shot profile, but the loss to the Bucks was just another reminder of yet another bad decision made by executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
Beverley helped turn the momentum in his 18 minutes of work, while Carter was a non-factor in four uneventful minutes.
“The game of basketball is a physical game obviously,” Beverley told reporters afterward when asked about the run ins he had. “I didn’t know how big the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Chicago Bulls was until (Friday). That’s how the game is though, it’s physical. You’re going to get hit. I like to be the guy that goes out there and hits people instead of getting hit.”
In other words, be the hammer, not the nail.
A motto this Bulls team has never fully embraced or understood.
Not only was the loss to the Bucks another reminder of how far the Bulls were from being a threat in the Eastern Conference, but also how the makeup of this team might not be tough enough to handle adversity even if the talent level was higher.
Too much emphasis on choir boys, not enough bad boys.
Yet another box to try and check off on the offseason to-do list.
Just because Beverley wasn’t the answer for this group that doesn’t mean adding a player that makes things uncomfortable shouldn’t be a priority.
After all, considering the contracts and current make-up of this Bulls roster, there’s a good chance that very little will change from a personnel standpoint. Maybe they let DeRozan walk in free agency, but all signs point to the Bulls trying to bring the veteran forward back.
And while DeRozan is a great leader and elite worker, the good cop needs a bad cop. It’s not Vucevic, and it certainly isn’t Zach LaVine.
Coby White has emerged as a vocal leader, but again does not operate from a place of discomfort. At least not yet. Maybe with another offseason and even more confidence, White comes back looking to hold teammates more accountable.
Whoever it is, something has to change.
Beverley reminded everyone of that. He always does.