The wild NBA trade deadline is over, and the wildest thing to happen is not about an All-Star player.
Well, no All-Star-level player was dealt. The big market teams, except the New York Knicks, also went silent.
The biggest trending topic concerns wild dog Patrick Beverley, who was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Cam Payne and a second-round draft pick in 2027.
There are three ways this swap is wild:
1. It is rare for two title rivals to exchange players. The Philadelphia 76ers, even if they are already without Joel Embiid, have been an obstacle for the Bucks' title quest for a long time.
2. Patrick Beverley broke the news himself through his podcast, faster than usual NBA insiders Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania.
3. Patrick Beverley is now teammates with Damian Lillard, with whom he had a long-standing beef. This is the second time he will play alongside a player he used to antagonize. The first one was Russell Westbrook.
Damian Lillard-Patrick Beverley beef history
It is a small word, after all, in the NBA. Dame and PatBev are one pair that is hard to imagine becoming teammates.
Beverley is known for his defense and is a pest to the best guards in the league.
Read more: Why Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks Trade Is a Great Move for New York Knicks
His and Dame's beef started during the 2020 NBA Bubble. Dame was still with the Portland Trail Blazers, while Beverley was still with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers bench was vexing the eight-time All-Star as he was about to shoot two free throws with 26.1 seconds left on the clock-one to tie the score, two to take the lead.
Dame missed both, and Beverley did not waste time to rub it on the Blazers legend's face.
They went silent after that, but Dame took exception from Beverley's physical altercation with Chris Paul when the Clippers and the Phoenix Suns met in the 2022 playoffs.
He called out his new teammate's fake tough guy persona.
In February 2023, the two met again. This time, PatBev is part of the Lakers. Beverley called Dame a "soft a** n****" to which the latter replied "And I'll beat your a**".
Cooler heads prevailed after that. Lakers won the game, and again, PatBev rubbed it in by copying (mocking) his archnemesis' signature Dame Time celebration.
These wild moments will be buried in memory now that they are teammates.
Reacting to becoming teammates
While they showed how much they don't like each other on the court, they respect their game. PatBev called Lillard the hardest to guard in the league in 2020 before their NBA bubble run-in.
He even referred to him as the guy who pushed him to be better.
"I give it to him. Dame is one of the reasons why I went into the weight room. I told my guys, 'Hey, I gotta get faster laterally'," he said during an appearance at J.J Redick's podcast.
"I don't feel like I'm fast. I can't keep up with the speed right now. I don't know if I need to lose weight. I don't know if I need to get stronger."
PatBev said that Giannis Antetokounmpo is the Bucks player he is vibing with. As for Dame, he is ready to improve his relationship with him.
Dame also makes a turnaround of his view of Beverley with the massive change they are heading towards. He said their issues are less important than their quest for a title.
"First, I want to say I'm sad to see Cam [Payne] go," Dame told NBA TNT through Chris Haynes.
"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."
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