Getty Patrick Beverley guards Russell Westbrook during the 2021-22 season
New Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley reacted to a Russell Westbrook rumor since the report had something to do with him.
According to an August 30th report from NBA insider Marc Stein, Westbrook and Beverley have already been in contact since becoming teammates. When Rob Perez, aka “World Wide Wob,” quote-tweeted Stein’s report by saying, “Sounds good,” Beverley quote-tweeted Perez’s tweet.
New Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has reportedly told Westbrook and Beverley that he plans to play them together in select lineups next season. Los Angeles acquired Beverley from the Utah Jazz on August 25th.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on August 24th that Beverley was eager to join the Lakers, who missed the playoffs last season despite having LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Westbrook. The Lakers traded Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Jazz for Beverley, who has career averages of 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Westbrook, Beverley Ready to End Beef?
Westbrook and Beverley have been intense rivals ever since what happened in 2013 when Westbrook was on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Beverley was on the Rockets. During a Thunder-Rockets game in OKC, Westbrook was dribbling the ball toward his bench to call a timeout when Beverley went for a steal and took out the nine-time All-Star’s knee, which led to a meniscus tear and multiple knee surgeries.
Westbrook and Beverley have gotten into several scuffles and verbal back-and-forths since 2013. The most significant burn came from Westbrook on November 13, 2019, when he was playing for the Rockets with James Harden and Beverley was on the Clippers. After Houston defeated Los Angeles, Westbrook was asked about Beverley’s defense and the 2016-17 MVP went off: “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. He just running around, doing nothing.”
Last season during the Lakers’ road loss to the Timberwolves on March 16th, Westbrook was harshly disrespected by Beverley, who called the UCLA product “trash” in front of Los Angeles’ bench. However, it appears the two guards could be squashing their beef now that they are teammates on the Lakers.
Lakers Are Thrilled to Have Beverley; Westbrook Could Still Be Traded
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said Los Angeles is “thrilled” to have Beverley on August 25th. Over the past five seasons, Beverley has held opponents to 41.9% shooting as the closest defender, second best among players defending at least 2,000 shots, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“We are thrilled to add Patrick Beverley’s toughness and competitive spirit to our team,” Pelinka said on August 25th, via Lakers.com. “We’re confident that Patrick’s ‘3-and-D’ style will fit in nicely with the other pieces of our roster, and align perfectly with Coach Ham’s philosophy of hard work and smart play.”
Beverley and Westbrook may have spoken since the Lakers-Jazz trade was completed, but that doesn’t guarantee they will play together. Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported on August 25th that Beverley’s arrival makes it more likely that Westbrook will be off the active roster by the start of training camp.
“Beverley’s arrival makes it more likely that Westbrook will be off the active roster by the start of training camp, either through a trade or the team sending him home a la the Rockets with John Wall last season, according to a source close to the situation,” Buha reported.
Westbrook started 78 games for the Lakers last season. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.4% from the field, 29.8% from beyond the arc and 66.7% from the free-throw line. Westbrook was second in the NBA in turnovers and had the sixth-worst effective field goal percentage, making him a poor fit next to James and Davis.