Lakers finalize trade to send Daleon Harden-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to Jazz for Patrick Beverley.

The Los Angeles Lakers It is expected to finalize trades that send Dalton Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson Utah Jazz In exchange for Patrick Beverley, According to Adrian Wojnarowski. No selections from either team are involved in the deal.

Awarded to Beverly Jazz Minnesota Timberwolves In this summer’s blockbuster Rudy Gobert trade. But with the Jazz embarking on a rebuild — Donovan Mitchell could be traded at some point this offseason — Beverley was a prime candidate to be traded to another team.

A veteran and one of the toughest perimeter defenders in the league, Beverley makes more sense on this Lakers roster. The Lakers had all kinds of problems last season as they finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs, but some were bigger than no one could stop; They allowed 112.8 points per 100 possessions, which was 21st in the league. Some of that was due to injuries and some to poor roster construction, but the bottom line is that no matter where you want to place most offenses, they are inadequate defensively.

Beverley won’t solve all their problems, but he will make them tougher and better on the defensive side of the ball. He’s a reliable 3-point shooter — 38.5 percent on catch-and-shoot attempts last season — and could help land around LeBron James and provide some extra play. While he may not be the most exciting addition, he is a solid role player that the Lakers were missing last season.

For much of the summer, the league has been waiting for the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving situations to be resolved. With both of those players now staying in Brooklyn, it will be interesting to see if the dam breaks and more moves follow this Beverley trade.

The Lakers’ desire to send Russell Westbrook out is no secret, and now that Beverley is in town, there’s someone who can take his place in the starting lineup. Of course, to do that they’ll have to find another team willing to take Westbrook, and that’s proving difficult at this point. Still, if a few more dominoes start to fall, it’s a situation worth watching closely over the next few weeks.

Not much to discuss from the Utah side of things. Danny Ainge is off to a tear with the Gobert trade, and there’s no reason to keep Beverley around as they join the bottom of the race for Victor Wembanyama. They’ll look to another young player in Harden-Tucker, who has shown some flashes of being an interesting defense-first role player, but hasn’t been consistent on the offensive end. If they can make him part of their core for the future, great; If not, no big deal.