Clippers’ fiery guard Patrick Beverley: Kawhi Leonard is cool, but he’s ‘not quiet’
LOS ANGELES — What happens when you put Patrick Beverley, one of the planet’s truly intense people, on a court beside Kawhi Leonard, the superstar known as much for his stoicism as his incredible skillset?
Basketball, Beverley said, because, “he’s not quiet.”
“He’s a really dope dude, man,” Beverley said of Leonard, who is expected to suit up Thursday for the second time since signing with the Clippers. They face the Dallas Mavericks in their preseason finale in Vancouver.
Beverley, who previously knew Leonard only as an opponent, is pleased to have the voice of a two-time NBA Finals MVP in a locker room that harbors championship aspirations.
“I thought he was quiet coming in, but he’s really not. He’s another person, when he speaks everyone listens,” said Beverley, who brought his characteristic energy to Sunday’s 118-100 preseason victory over Australia’s Melbourne United, collecting 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals before being removed after 20 minutes to rest an ailing calf.
“We’re just trying to put it all together,” Beverley added. “Trying to have fun putting it all together and trying to get better. He’s just a cool dude.”
Rookie point guard Terance Mann echoed that sentiment last week when he talked about how much he’s learning from Leonard.
“He’s been very vocal,” Mann said. “If he sees something on the court, he comes to the bench, he’ll let me know what I could do better – every time, too.”
“The appealing thing, why stars want to play for Doc (Rivers), it’s like everyone’s different (and) he allows them the freedom to be themselves,” Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said before training camp. “As long as it fits and it’s going towards winning.”
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
There are times when Clippers forward Patrick Patterson is OK with being someone else.
Every so often, Patterson, a 30-year-old power forward from West Virginia, is mistaken for another NBA player – one that even non-basketball fans have heard of.
That LeBron James fellow.
“That’s happened a few times,” said Patterson, who has introduced himself to Clippers fans by going 6 for 7 from the field, including 3 for 4 from 3-point range, in two preseason appearances. “It’s happened in Cleveland, it’s happened in Santa Barbara, it’s happened on vacation, it’s happened in Miami.”
For the record, Patterson is 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds. James is 6-8, 250. Both men do have beards.
“Sometimes I roll with it,” Patterson said. “If it’s a little kid and I’m like, ‘You might not actually get to meet LeBron in person so I might as well let them feel like they met LeBron.’”
Patterson said he’s discussed the phenomenon with James, who encouraged him to make the most of it, which the new Clipper joked gave him an idea. …
“I told LeBron it happened when I was in Cleveland in Chipotle before the game and he’s like, ‘Next time it happens, just roll with it,’” Patterson said. “And I’m like, yo, if I go over to a car dealership and tell them I’m you, don’t be surprised if you see in the headlines, ‘LeBron James bought some cars.’”
Do LeBron James and Patrick Patterson look like the same person? Someone at Chipotle certainly thought so. https://t.co/eCqamp6oqA pic.twitter.com/XJ4QBZ2BmE
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 14, 2016
Turnaround J → Steal → Stepback trey
A sampling of @kawhileonard's first few minutes as a Clipper. pic.twitter.com/nKTgZrdd2T
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 11, 2019