One-Time Bucks Guard Patrick Beverly Considering NBA Comeback, Should Milwaukee Sign Him?

Could he cure what ails his former team?

May 2, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley (21) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) defends during game six of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Although they may have recorded a 123-100 win on Thursday night against one of the other worst teams in the league, the 1-7 Utah Jazz, the 2-6 Milwaukee Bucks still hardly look like a serious threat to return to the upper echelons of the Eastern Conference as of this writing.

Head coach Doc Rivers made a key rotational shift, replacing veteran swingman Gary Trent Jr. with raw second-year guard Andre Jackson Jr. in his starting lineup. Jackson didn't make much of a dent offensively, scoring seven points on an efficient 3-of-4 shooting line from the floor (1-of-1 from deep), while dishing out four assists. He also chipped in three rebounds and four steals, logged four personal fouls, and registered a +19 in his 28:19 of action. Trent played just 7:52 off the bench in an eventual blowout, scoring a team-worst -14.

Yes, Jackson looked immediately better next to one-way All-Star point guard Damian Lillard than the slighter, slower-footer Trent ever did. But is the switch enough to help Milwaukee get back on track, at least until former three-time All-Star Khris Middleton returns to the lineup?

Or should the Bucks look to shore up their bench depth an old friend?

Former 12-year NBA point guard Patrick Beverley, who joined Milwaukee after being traded from the Philadelphia 76ers midway through last season, opted to head overseas this summer. He's been playing for Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv.

In seven EuroCup games, Beverley is averaging 12.0 points on a .419/.371/.950 slash line, 5.4 dishes, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Across three IBSL matchups, Beverley is logging comparable averages of 12.0 points on a .522/.471/.667 slash line, 4.7 boards, 4.3 dimes, 1.3 swipes and 0.7 rejections.

During the latest episode "The Pat Bev Podcast," Beverley told cohost Adam "Rone" Ferrone that multiple NBA clubs have reached out to him — though he was not at liberty to say who.

PB has a lot to think about and decisions to make 🙏 @patbev21 pic.twitter.com/J3yUrUyfmv

— Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) November 6, 2024

"This week has been kind of tough for us because our big man, Jonathan Motley, all of a sudden, my boy hit us with the pump fake, said he don't feel safe no more, leaves team," Beverley said. "Our leading scorer, the best big man in EuroCup, wants to go to a EuroLeague team in Serbia. So now we just out here with no big man, just like, 'Okay, where do we go from here?' So of course, now people ask me, 'Hey yo, Pat, what you gonna do?' Right, 'cause NBA teams call — they told me I can't say who — EuroLeague teams call, Real Madrid calls, a couple other teams out there to see, like, 'Okay, are you guys blowing it up, what's going on?"

In his 26 regular season matchups with the Bucks last year, Beverley averaged 6.0 points on .391/.361/.852 shooting splits, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks a night. He was a stabilizing 3-and-D force for the club, even though he often played out-of-position at shooting guard to help hide Lillard's defensive shortcomings.

"I've been thinking a lot — what's the next move?" Beverley added. "What to do, what to not do. Do I go back to the NBA, do I not go to the NBA? If I got back to the NBA, do I turn my back on my teammates? That's not my style, I don't operate like that," Beverley said. "So I have some decisions to make. And I'm gonnna make the right ones, like I always do."

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