‘Abandoned’ Patrick Beverley teases NBA return after his big man flees Israel, citing safety concerns 

Amid turmoil surrounding Hapoel Tel Aviv, veteran point guard Patrick Beverley hinted at leaving the Israeli Basketball Premier League in favor of an NBA comeback.

In July, Beverley signed a two-year, $4 million deal with Hapoel Tel Aviv, leaving the NBA after 12 seasons. While he has seemingly enjoyed his time overseas, his squad suffered a blow last week, with center Johnathan Motley's abrupt departure amid "safety concerns."

On Wednesday's episode of "The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone," Beverley reflected on his former LA Clippers teammate's decision. He highlighted how hard it will be for Hapoel Tel Aviv to progress without their leading scorer (17.5 points per game).

"This week has been kind of tough for us because our big man, Johnathan Motley, all of a sudden, my boy hit us with the pump fake, said he doesn't feel safe no more, leaves team," Beverley said. "Our leading scorer, the best big man in the EuroCup, wants to go to a EuroLeague team in Serbia. So, now we're just out here with no big man."

Patrick Beverley added that following Motley's departure, he is considering returning to the NBA or heading to the EuroLeague. He noted that he has already registered interest from NBA teams but declined to mention specifics.

"Now people are asking me, 'Ayo, Pat, what (are) you going to do?' Because you know, some NBA teams called. They told me I can't say who," Beverley said. "EuroLeague teams called, Real Madrid called, couple of other EuroLeague teams out there to see like, 'Okay, are you guys blowing it up? What's going on?'"

According to Beverley, he feels "a little bit" abandoned by Motley's departure, as playing alongside the big man again enticed him to join Hapoel Tel Aviv. However, he stressed that he is still weighing his options regarding his "next move."

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Patrick Beverley delivering solid production for Hapoel Tel Aviv amid potential NBA comeback

Amid Patrick Beverley's uncertain future with Hapoel Tel Aviv, he is putting up solid well-rounded production.

Through seven outings, he is averaging 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.9 3-pointers per game, shooting 41.9% and 37.1% from deep.

So, perhaps the veteran can latch onto an NBA contender in a bench role. However, he averaged just 6.0 ppg on 39.1% shooting over 26 contests with the Milwaukee Bucks last season. So, some teams may be hesitant to buy into his impact overseas.

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