Clippers close preseason against Timberwolves, Patrick Beverley

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Patrick Beverley of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on before the start of a preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Target Center on October 4, 2021.(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

The Clippers will be playing in a relatively unfamiliar arena on Monday, but something about it will sound weirdly recognizable.

Patrick Beverley’s voice.

They’ll hear it when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ontario’s Toyota Arena, in L.A.’s fourth and final preseason game – and the third of four preseason warmups for the T’Wolves, Beverley’s new team.

The passionate 33-year-old guard was traded twice this offseason: First to the Memphis Grizzlies (as a part of the deal that brought Eric Bledsoe back to L.A. and delivered Rajon Rondo and Daniel Oturu to Memphis, at least temporarily), and soon thereafter, to the T-Wolves.

Minnesota believes in Beverley’s experience, leadership and defensive bite – all of which have been on display already.

Yes, it’s just the preseason. So, no, none of these games – not Monday’s against the Clippers, nor Minnesota’s two close victories against New Orleans and Denver – count officially.

As if that matters to Beverley.

Asked about the T-Wolves’ dominant second quarter against the Pelicans in their preseason opener, Beverley offered a perfectly on-brand response: “We scored 40 points in the second quarter. I think they scored 17. I don’t give a (darn) if it’s preseason or not, you just don’t turn that on and off.”

Observers of Beverley’s new team have noted that he seems to stand more when he’s on the bench than his new coach, Chris Finch, and that Beverley didn’t flinch after picking up a technical on the bench: “Bravo. I don’t give a (darn)!”

In a session with Minnesota media on Sept. 30, Beverley said he has plans for point guard D’Angelo Russell, an All-Star in 2019, as well as gifted 2020 No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards: “It’s gonna be fun. I’m gonna challenge them and get a lot out of them – like I’ve challenged James Harden, I’ve challenged Paul George, I challenged Kawhi (Leonard) … I’m gonna challenge them.”

That would sound familiar to the Ivica Zubac, Beverley’s next-locker neighbor for the past few seasons. Last week, the young center said he can’t help but miss his former teammate’s nonstop constant competitive patter, even as George, Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris Sr. have raised their voices to help fill the void.

“It’s just so weird without him here,” Zubac said. “He was always the loudest guy in the gym, always talking the most. He was the leader on the court, off the court, and you know, we really miss him. It doesn’t feel the same without him out here, it’s just a little weird, but that’s how the league works.

“We got to get used to playing without him and we got to figure out the other ways, how to be vocal on the floor, the other guys got to step up a little more in their role off the court, on the court.”

Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, spoke recently about how tough it was to trade Beverley, with whom he remains close and for whom he retains much respect, he said.

“The worst part of this gig is having to trade players,” Frank said. “I mean, Pat, that’s a great, great dude. Pat embodies a lot of the qualities that we really, really value. So, yeah, it’s extremely painful to trade any player, but to trade Pat was very, very painful for us. Love him, still talk to him. …

“Sometimes the perception is when you trade someone – like, you were unsatisfied with them, which, no. With Pat, Pat did everything in his power every single day to prepare to play and compete every single play. Two, that once you trade someone it’s like, okay like the relationship is over. And with Pat, like, you know, forever Pat will be a part of our lives and wish them nothing but the best I think he’ll have a huge impact with Minnesota.

“It’s a (unpleasant) part of the business. But I think one where you try to deal with it straightforward. You give people advance notice. You talk to Pat, you talk to the agent, you explain the why. And it stinks, quite frankly. Over the course of time, you live and learn how can you do the best job of handling a really hard situation: Just being straightforward, even though there’s gonna be times you just agree to disagree.”

Beverly told reporters that when he and the Clippers couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension, they asked him where else he might like to play. Minnesota was, the native Chicagoan said, “in my top three, my top two.”

“Obviously, age is a very young factor in this case but at the same time there’s a lot of passion, a lot of hunger there,” Beverley said.

It also helped that Gersson Rosas, the Timberwolves’ since-fired president of basketball operations, scouted Beverley and helped bring him to Houston early in his NBA career.

Beverley also had a good relationship with Finch, who coached Beverley in the then-D League – and again now in Minnesota, where he’s eager to let the three-time NBA All-Defensive selection get to work.

“Just his leadership, his confidence, his understanding of defense,” Finch said. “Pat’s made a big impression, even before we got to camp.”

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