Patrick Beverley

A knee injury limited Beverley to 37 games last season, adding to an already injury-ridden career. The veteran has appeared in more than 65 games just three times in his nine seasons. The 33-year-old wasn't especially effective last season, either, as he ranked 190th in per-game fantasy production behind 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 combined steals-plus-blocks in 22.5 minutes. His production has often been up-and-down since he's more of a three-and-D point guard with rebounding upside rather than a traditional floor general or dynamic scorer. During the summer, Beverley was traded twice, eventually landing in Minnesota. With the Wolves, he's set to back up D'Angelo Russell, though the two could spend time on the court together, which could allow Beverley to see minutes in the mid-to-upper 20s. There's a chance he has a bit of a fantasy revival since the T-Wolves' bench is rather thin and could use Beverley's defensive feistiness. Though, at this point in his career, it's fair to wonder how much the 33-year-old has left in the tank. The last time the point guard ranked inside the top 100 in per-game production was 2016-17 (not counting the 11 games he played in 2017-18), where he saw 30.7 minutes and averaged 9.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals for the Rockets. Ultimately, it seems like Beverley will be better suited for deeper fantasy leagues as someone with close to top-100 upside if everything breaks right.

Beverley played a key role for the Clippers in 2019-20, starting every game in which he played. On the year, he averaged 7.9 points, 5.2 boards, 3.6 assists, 1.6 triples and 1.1 steals. Beverley didn't hang his hat on scoring, and he scored five points or fewer in 17 games. Instead, his bread and butter -- as it has been throughout most of his career -- was energy and defensive intensity for his team. Beverley provided 43.1/66.0/38.8 shooting splits, and while his free-throw shooting was pedestrian, his field goal and three-point percentages were solid. Beverley doesn't excel in any one category, and his fantasy value is tied to his ability to contribute across multiple statistical categories, knock down threes at a respectable clip, and rack up steals. He's a Draymond Green-lite type of player who could provide some value to fantasy managers in the later rounds.

After knee surgery forced Beverley to miss nearly all of the 2017-18 season, the point guard returned in 2018-19 to play a key role for the Clippers that resulted in him signing a three-year, $40 million with Los Angeles this offseason. Beverley's value continues to be his reputation as one of the best on-ball defenders in the league, but the point guard being a consistently effective three-point shooter has become an under-appreciated part of Beverley's game. After shooting 39.7 percent from behind the arc last season, Beverley has now shot at least 38 percent from three in each of the last four seasons. Now, with the arrival of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George this offseason, Beverley, even as the Clippers' starting point guard, will surely have the ball in his hands a whole lot less. But since the 31-year-old has excelled shooting from deep, it makes him a seamless off-ball fit in the presence of ball-dominant superstars like George and Leonard. His overall production, however, will certainly take a sizable hit next season. He was already coming off his lowest scoring average (7.6 PPG) since his rookie year.

Beverley was traded from the Rockets to the Clippers last offseason, but he wound up playing in just 11 games before undergoing surgery to repair a microfracture and meniscus injury to his right knee. Prior to the injury, Beverley was looking spry and had actually averaged 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.2 three-pointers, which would have put him into consideration as a draft selection in deeper leagues. He's now back to full strength and is heading into the final year of his current contract, so Beverley will have all the motivation necessary to make a strong return from injury. His status as a proven veteran, as well as his ability to both play lockdown defense and knock down three-pointers (40 percent from deep in two of last three seasons) consistently, should make him the favorite to open the season as the team's starting point guard. However, if he struggles at all or suffers any sort of setback, the Clippers could turn to rookie first-round pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or even Milos Teodosic to fill in. There may be a bit of a timeshare at the position, though Beverley could still push for starter's minutes if he excels early on. He'll be a bounce-back candidate that can be considered in the later rounds of deeper drafts, especially considering he's proven to be capable of contributing in a plethora of different categories when at full strength.

Beverley, who was traded to the Clippers in the deal that sent Chris Paul to the Rockets, will be joining a new team for the first time in what will be his sixth year in the NBA. Appropriately nicknamed “Mr. 94 Feet”, Beverley is primarily known as a hustle-hard three-and-D player rather than a traditional point guard, as evidenced by his abnormal averages of 9.5 points (38.2 percent from beyond the arc), 5.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals across 30.7 minutes per game last season. For that reason, it can be somewhat difficult to gauge Beverley’s Fantasy value since he’s somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades but master of none, which is rare from the point guard slot. At first glance, it seems like Beverley will be the starting point guard from day one, but Bill Oram of the OC Register reported that newly acquired Milos Teodosic, a 30-year-old Serbian point guard, agreed to his two-year deal with an understanding that he would be the starting point guard. That said, big questions still remain about Teodosic's defense, which could open up significant minutes for Beverley in certain matchups. Depending on how things shake out, there still remains a possibility that Beverley's assists could see a bump, though, considering he’ll no longer be sharing the rock with James Harden, who was one of the most ball-dominant guards in the NBA last season.

Houston kept its starting backcourt intact this offseason, signing Beverley to a four-year deal and extending his reign as the team’s premier perimeter defender. Beverley is a near-perfect complement to James Harden, perpetually putting out fires on one end and knocking down spot-up three-pointers on the other. While Beverley’s scoring average fell under 10 points per game for the first time in three years, he had his most efficient shooting season, converting 43.4 percent of his field goals and an even 40 percent of his three-pointers to go with 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Beverley’s value is more easily quantified in real basketball sense than in fantasy, however, and his rather pedestrian counting stats render him a fringe option in most shallower formats.

Beverley was limited to only 56 games (55 starts) last season, as a wrist injury kept him out for the final 12 games of the regular season, in addition to all of the playoffs. When he was on the court, Beverley was his usual self, an intense, hard-nosed defender tasked with guarding the opponent's best player. Offensively, Beverley was a difficult player to own, as he shot just 38 percent from the field while averaging 10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals. He was a serviceable three-point threat, however, converting at a near-36 percent clip on 5.8 attempts per game. Heading into 2015-16, Beverley remains the incumbent starting point guard, but he'll face stiff competition in Ty Lawson, acquired from the Nuggets in the offseason. Lawson is undoubtedly the more effective offensive player, but Beverley is far superior defensively and holds the edge in terms of continuity. Still, it wouldn't be a shock if Lawson emerges as the starter at some point, though he ideally fits as a sparkplug off the bench, spelling Harden or Beverley as the primary ball-handler. As such, Beverley figures to see a slight reduction in minutes, and he could find himself in an even more specialized, defense-first role.

Beverley made drastic improvements in his second season in the league and with the Rockets. After stealing the starting point guard position from Jeremy Lin, Beverley saw a heavy increase in minutes from 17 per game during the 2012-13 season, to 31 during the 2013-14 season. With an increase in time on the court, he doubled his points per game averages from 5.6 per game two seasons ago, to 10.2 per game last season. To go along with the 10.2 points per game, Beverley also averaged 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 three-pointers made. He won't be heavily relied upon for scoring in the upcoming year, with James Harden, Dwight Howard, and Trevor Ariza in the fold, but Beverley will be counted on to provide the same tenacity on defense that he displayed last season, which landed him on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. As long as he can stay healthy, considering he finished last season playing in only 56 games, he should put up similar numbers to last season, and will continue to be relied upon for his defensive game over his offensive output.

The backup to Jeremy Lin, Beverley played well enough down the stretch to see regular minutes in the playoffs (in part due to Lin's chest injury) and earn the trust of the Rockets coaches. Beverley's not much of a scorer, but he can knock down an open three and play perimeter defense. Expect 20 minutes per game and a regular role in the team's rotation.