Patrick Beverley was trending on Twitter Monday morning for his comments on ESPN’s Get Up.
The Timberwolves guard, who is not only known as a disruptor and one of the NBA’s top defenders but also one of the most vocal players in the league, didn’t mince words during his appearance on the national sports program – and a lot of his comments were about Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul.
“I really don’t see any other studs besides Devin Booker on the Suns,” said Beverley, clearly omitting Paul, who is a 12-time All-Star and an almost annual All-NBA selection.
ESPN analysts J.J. Redick, whose playing career featured stints alongside both Paul and Beverley, pointed out that Beverley’s opinions of Paul are biased due to past beef between him and Paul. Beverley disagreed.
“I’m saying all this because this is what the NBA says. And players in the NBA know this. My coach [Chris Finch], he told me, ‘I’m just the weatherman, I’m just letting you know if it’s raining or not, brother.’ I’m not the only one who says this,” said Beverley.
Is Paul overrated, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg asked.
“I think he’s been in a fortunate situation, to be president of the [NBA Players Association] and State Farm commercials, so he’s fortunate to get certain calls in games that normal guys don’t usually get. I’ll say that.”
Beverley then suggested that Suns coach Monte Williams should’ve benched Paul.
“I’m gonna get a lot for this but I don’t really care. They benched the wrong person,” said Beverley, responding to a question about Deandre Ayton being benched in Game 7. “Should’ve benched Chris. And I’m not saying bench him now. Once you see they start attacking Chris early, and you know that might become a problem later on, you need to see how my team works without Chris in a game a little bit.”
Paul totaled just 35 points over the final four games of the series against the Mavericks, which ended with a 33-point drubbing in Game 7 on Sunday.
“He needed to play better and he didn’t play better,” Beverley said, noting that “it’s OK to give CP a little slander.”
During last season’s Western Conference Finals, when Paul’s Suns beat Beverley and the Clippers, Beverley pushed Paul in the back. Beverley later apologized and said his beef with Paul goes all the way back to high school.
“You know Chris, so people don’t understand. Me and Chris, what we have has been going on since high school,” Beverley said on Redick’s podcast earlier this year. “A lot of people don’t understand the backstory, but me and Chris, we definitely understand the backstory. I got invited to a LeBron James camp, the big Nike LeBron James camp when we was in college… Chris Paul was there. I killed him. Destroyed him… Then I see him in the NBA, so of course that energy is gonna roll over to the NBA.”
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