Patrick Beverley on Minnesota Departure: ‘I Need to Play Them in the Playoffs and Smoke They Ass’

It’s been a big week and a half for the new media!

Overshadowed by Draymond Green’s utter insanity in practice that resulted in a sabbatical from the Golden State Warriors and a leaked video that has many questioning him currently, newly-minted Los Angeles Laker and former Timberwolf Patrick Beverley debuted his new Barstool Sports-backed show, the “Pat Bev Pod.”

Beverley was shipped off to the Utah Jazz in the Rudy Gobert deal on July 1, before teaming up with longtime adversary Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles. Beverley will be missed in a multitude of ways after being the heart and soul of a young Minnesota Timberwolves squad. In fact, he named most members of the team as close friends, and people he considers himself a mentor to.

Where feelings get a little harder, is the guy who wasn’t around last year.

“The new management,” Beverley said, when asked if he had any type of feeling towards the organization for trading him. “Tim Connelly, and a little bit of the coach (Chris Finch).”

Beverley went on to mention he wish Finch had called him earlier to let him know a trade was imminent. Finch made it clear last week how much Beverley meant to the team last year, as if that wasn’t already made apparent through multiple interviews during last season, and the quick fan favorite he became (shoutout to JakesGraphs for the popular “I <3 Pat Bev” gear).

There clearly seemed to be a mutual admiration that still carries in. But if the Clipper game last year told us anything, Beverley doesn’t need much for motivation.

Perhaps the biggest nugget to take away was Beverley projecting the Wolves’ shortcomings this season.

“I think their problem is going to be...when things get hard, who’s going to pick [them] up?”

Leadership. A question that’s been circulating this preseason. There’s no shortage of players that can take on the role, but Pat Bev pretty much describing himself as the missing piece is, well, Pat Bev to a T.

The one thing I wish? If his co-host could have followed up and asked about Towns or Russell taking that role on. Even as an adamant KAT defender, and intermittent Russell supporter, the situation sure seemed as though Beverley was communicating that he doesn’t believe they’re those guys.

You can watch the full discussion below:

By brash preseason judgement, Beverley seems to have his work cut out for him this season. In a game where the Lakers played starters deep into the third quarter, they struggled to keep pace with the Towns-less, Gobert-less Wolves, and didn’t have much of an answer for Naz Reid...time will tell how certain the first part of Beverley’s promise is.