Patrick Beverley will make Suns-Lakers rivalry even more intense

Patrick Beverley has heard boos in visiting NBA arenas for most of his career.

They’ll just be even louder Nov. 22 at Footprint Center when the Los Angeles Lakers play the Phoenix Suns for the first time this 2022-23 season.

ESPN is reporting the Lakers will trade Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Utah Jazz for Beverley, giving them the veteran guard who defends, is highly competitive and plays with an edge.

Teammates love him. Beverley was given tons of credit for changing the culture in Minnesota in just his one season with the Timberwolves.

He’s earned respect in the league for his NBA journey, but Beverley also has irritated some players and most opposing fan bases who believe he crosses the line with his aggressive style of play.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) works around Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley (22) in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Minneapolis.

Suns players and fans have recent reasons to dislike Beverley.

He pushed Chris Paul in the back out of frustration in Game 6 of the 2021 conference finals, which Phoenix won over the Clippers in Los Angeles to reach the finals.

The NBA handed Beverley a one-game suspension without pay for the shove.

Nearly a year later, Beverley criticized the Suns after Dallas eliminated them in Game 7 of the conference semifinals this past season.

“No one’s afraid of Phoenix, (Timberwolves) wanted them,” Beverley said on ESPN’s First Take. “We wanted them. No one’s afraid of Phoenix.”

The two nearly matched up in the postseason as the Suns earned the top overall seed and the T-Wolves were the seventh seed in the Western Conference after beating the Clippers in the play-in tournament.

However, Phoenix went 3-0 versus Minnesota in the regular season. The second-seeded Grizzlies eliminated the T-Wolves in the first round, 4-2.

Beverley also blasted Paul on ESPN’s Get Up, calling him a cone to suggest the 12-time All-Star and nine-time NBA All-Defensive team selection is a poor defender.

“CP can’t guard anybody man, everybody in the NBA know that,” Beverley said to Stephen A. Smith. “Everybody knows that.”

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So, when the Lakers show up in November, Suns fans will pack Footprint Center and be salivating to jeer Beverley, who embraces being the villain.

Trading for Beverley will make the Lakers certainly more must-see, a better defensive team and edgier, but he’s not enough to make them a title contender.

Defending NBA champion Golden State, Phoenix, Memphis and the L.A. Clippers – with a healthy Kawhi Leonard – are still better in just the West alone.

Still have Boston, Milwaukee, Miami, Brooklyn and Philadelphia in the East.

This could be the start of the Lakers making more moves a month outside of training camp to bolster a roster that still has the all-time great LeBron James.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) controls the ball during an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in Los Angeles, Friday, April 1, 2022.

They still have more to seriously challenge the NBA elite, but adding Beverley helps and adds fire to a rivalry that’s recently become one-sided in Phoenix’s favor.

The Suns have won six in a row over Los Angeles dating back to the 2021 playoffs. The last victory over the Lakers back in April broke the franchise record for victories in a single season.

This came hours after Anthony Davis said his groin injury was the difference in the Lakers losing the 2021 first round series to the Suns.

“We know that,” Davis to Lakers beat reporters before the game. “They know that.”

Devin Booker’s response?

“If ifs was a fifth, we’d all be drunk,” Booker said. “If my auntie had something between her legs, she’d be my uncle. It’s a lot of ifs in this game. You look at history along the lines, there’s something that comes up for every team during every season. Instead of just taking the high road, you have to make a comment like that, it’s kind of funny.”

Now Beverley is being added to this mix with his recent history with the Suns?

Best believe he’d love nothing more than to end that skid in Phoenix wearing a Lakers uniform.

Should be a wild one Nov. 22 at Footprint Center on TNT.

A real wild one, wild one, wild one, wild one.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns-Lakers rivalry will be even more intense with Patrick Beverley