'Out of line': NBA world in uproar over star's 'disrespectful' act

Minnesota Timberwolves star Patrick Beverley has been condemned by basketball fans after a series of explosive TV attacks on NBA rival, Chris Paul.

Beverley appeared on ESPN's talk shows to dissect the shock NBA playoffs exit of Paul's top-ranked Phoenix Suns, after a catastrophic 123-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of their Western Conference second round series.

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The Suns were one of the favourites to take out the NBA championship after finishing the regular season with the best record in the league.

However, Phoenix and their stars failed to fire when it mattered most, with Paul only managing 13 points and four assists in the series-defining game.

It led some brutal analysis from Beverley, who appeared to wage a personal vendetta against Paul in an extraordinary series of on-air rants.

Beverley's first declaration about Paul was that Suns head coach Monty Williams should have benched him instead of DeAndre Ayton. Paul had just 10 points with four assists against the Mavs, and he didn't make his first field goal until the third quarter — when the Suns were already down by 40.

"Coach the game, not the player," Beverley said.

The Timberwolves star then called Paul a "cone" who can't guard anyone anymore - brutally comparing the future Hall of Famer to a stationary traffic object.

“Ain’t nobody worried about Chris Paul and the Suns,” he said on ESPN’s First Take.

“Don’t get it twisted. He can’t guard. He can’t and everyone knows that … CP can’t guard anybody, man, everybody in the NBA know that.

“You know what you do with cones, in the summer time you got a cone, you make a move.

“What does the cone do? Nothing. He’s a cone. Everyone knows that, it’s just that y’all don’t want to accept that. Give him the Ben Simmons slander.”

Patrick Beverley under fire for comments

Former NBA star Matt Barnes - who now works for ESPN after a 14-season career, was among those to condemn Beverley for the "disrespectful" comments about Paul.

"I feel like what Pat Beverley did today to Chris Paul was completely disrespectful and out of the line," Barnes said on ESPN.

"Pat Beverley's talking like he's that guy. You're not that guy. Plain and simple. Chris Paul played terrible this series, and his numbers are still better than your career numbers have ever been...

"All he needed was the red clown nose, 'cause he was out there talking like a clown today. ... I know no one else is gonna tell him that, so I'm gonna tell him that."

Beverley's comments also drew backlash from current players such as Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard, who in turn hit out at the Timberwolves star.

Beverley's ranting about Paul started after the Suns got blown out and the superstar guard once again lost an opportunity to get his first championship ring.

Former NBA player Jeremy Lin tweeted that he thinks Paul "deserves" to win a championship before he retires, but Beverley was having none of it

Lin was trying to make the point that Paul has spent 17 years in the NBA and is considered to be one of the best point guards of all time, and winning a championship would be a fitting end to a glorious career.

Beverley obviously thinks differently. Either way, not winning a championship wouldn't make him less worthy of the Hall of Fame. Patrick Ewing never won a championship, and neither did Charles Barkley or Elgin Baylor. That's pretty great company to be in.

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