One of the biggest trades of the NBA offseason so far involved the Houston Rockets sending seven players, a protected 2018 first-round pick and cash to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Chris Paul.

Guard Patrick Beverley was one of the seven players included in the deal, and the longtime Rocket will now have a chance to play a bigger role for the Clippers this year.

After spending last season in the shadow of superstar James Harden and sixth man Eric Gordon - both of whom finished in the top five in three-pointers made in 2016-17 - Beverley is ready to show what he can do as perhaps the top member of a team's backcourt.

Speaking on The Woj Pod with Adrian Wojnarowski, Beverley said he was included in the trade for CP3 because he told the Rockets he wanted to move on and find a bigger role with a new team (via Yahoo! Sports):

"I asked for it," he said. "I asked for a bigger opportunity, a bigger chance to display my skills on a high level. And I was fortunate that the Rockets did really good with me and put me in a situation where I can thrive and be successful. They could have really dumped me anywhere, but they did right, and I respect them a lot for it.

"It came a time in James’ career, when he went from sixth man to eventually being MVP, that he wanted more. I’m not going to compare that to this. But it comes to a point in time, where I don’t want to live and regret saying what I could’ve, should’ve, would’ve done if I had the opportunity to at this age."

As one of the most popular players on the Rockets' roster last year, that will be tough for Houston fans to hear, but it sounds like Beverley was in a similar situation to Kyrie Irving in Cleveland.

Irving has requested a trade to get out from under LeBron James's shadow, and it sounds like Beverley felt the same way about James Harden's shadow.

It's unclear whether the Clippers would have traded Paul to Houston without getting Beverley in return, but now we at least know that Beverley - frequently regarded as one of the best defensive guards in the league - was completely on board with the move.

Whether he finds more success in Los Angeles or not remains to be seen, but at least Beverley now has what he wants - a chance to show what he can do without being overshadowed by another high-profile guard.