Damian Lillard reacts to past rival Patrick Beverley becoming his teammate
As the 24th-ranked defense in the league, the Milwaukee Bucks were desperate to shore up their perimeter defense ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.
While the Bucks didn't set the world on fire, GM John Horst pulled off a trade for Patrick Beverley, a former three-time All-Defensive selection who will bring tenacity and grit to a Milwaukee team sorely missing those intangibles.
In the wake of the trade, Bucks All-Star guard Damian Lillard offered his first reaction to becoming Beverley's teammate, via TNT's Chris Haynes.
Lillard prefaced his comments by expressing sadness over the departure of Cam Payne, who was shipped to the 76ers as part of the trade.
"First, I want to say I'm sad to see Cam [Payne] go," Lillard said. "We developed a friendship that I cherish. As for Pat, he brings an edge and a defensive tenacity on the perimeter that we need. There are not many players who bring it on a nightly like him. I look forward to working together. Our past personal issues don’t trump an opportunity to win a championship."
The "past personal issues" Lillard referred to date back years but came to a head last January when Beverley — as a member of the Lakers — had a heated confrontation with Lillard both on and off the court.
After his Blazers lost to the Lakers, Lillard referred to Beverley as "a con man" who doesn’t put fear in opponents with his perimeter defense.
In response, Beverley would simply write, "He mad" on X, further infuriating Lillard, who proceeded to slam Beverley for his "weird behavior."
While Beverley isn't expected to start for the struggling Bucks (33-18), one can expect coach Doc Rivers to play him in many closing lineups, especially in games that go down to the wire.
Rivers would be reuniting with Beverley for the first time since they spent nearly four seasons together as part of the Clippers.
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