Patrick Beverley is entering the final year of his contract with the Clippers. He’s the longest-tenured player on the roster, but at age 32 (he turns 33 in less than a week), he isn’t the most pivotal player for the team’s future.
As a result, it stands to reason that Beverley doesn’t want to wait until free agency to negotiate his next contract. Right now, Beverley has a little bit of leverage — the Clippers needed him in their series against Utah to defend Donovan Mitchell, and he was also useful in the conference finals against Chris Paul and Devin Booker.