Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey turned heads at the trade deadline by sending fan favorite Pat Beverley to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Cam Payne and a 2027 second-round pick. Many fans were skeptical of the trade, citing Beverley’s locker room presence combined with his defensive ability as reasons to keep him on the roster. Now that both players have spent six weeks with their new clubs, let’s take a look at the trade and how Payne and Beverley performed for their new teams.
Cam Payne played a total of 20 games for the Sixers, averaging 10.7 points per game, along with 3.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game.
Although his efficiency on the court is down from his tenure in Milwaukee, he is scoring at a much higher volume and providing the Sixers with a spark coming off the bench. With Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey and DeAnthony Melton all missing time due to injury, the Sixers are forced to look for outside options to replace the lost production on the offensive end. Consistency has been hard to come by for Payne, but when he’s aggressive, he provides the Sixers with valuable bench piece on the offensive end.
On the other hand, Pat Beverley saw his season averages decline during his time with the Bucks, averaging just 5.1 points per game compared to 6.3 in Philadelphia.
He’s also struggled to be efficient as he’s shooting just 34 percent from the field compared to Payne’s 42 percent. However, there are some areas in which Beverley is more successful, including his contributions on the defensive end. Beverley averages 0.7 steals per game, compared to 0.5 with the Sixers. He is an important player on a Milwaukee Bucks team that is looking to find its identity with its third coach over the last 9 months. Beverley is a perfect fit for this Bucks team because he reunited with coach Doc Rivers with whom he spent several years in Los Angeles with the Clippers.
Not only did the Sixers get Cam Payne, but they also received a future 2027 second-round pick.
They effectively traded players whose contracts were expiring and added a future asset they could use in a trade or on the field. Even though Beverley was a big presence in the locker room and played hard during his time in Philadelphia, he is also nearing the end of his career at age 35. He was unlikely to resign with the Sixers in 2024, so it made business sense to cut ties with him. Cameron Payne is still only 29 years old and has the chance to audition for the team in the 2024-2025 season.
Overall, this trade proved fruitful for both sides as the Sixers received a back-to-back scorer in Payne while the Bucks received a hard-working defensive presence in Beverley. The move won’t shake things up for either team or make them championship contenders, but it was a necessary move and required a change of scenery for two players looking to cash in on the free agent market this summer .
