With less than 40 days until the NBA season kicks off, the Los Angeles Lakers acquire ten-year NBA veteran point guard Patrick Beverley in a trade sending Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to Utah.
The Russell Westbrook experiment was a colossal failure, which resulted in the Lakers missing the playoffs and making Westbrook the sacrificial lamb with trade rumors looming around the league.
With no genuine offers, many NBA executives believe the Lakers won't trade Westbrook and will try to make things work because they don't like their suggestions.
Realistically the Lakers would have to surrender at least one first-round pick to trade Russell Westbrook and two if they want to bring back multiple rotational players.
It didn't take Patrick Beverly long to get acclimated to the intimidation of playing in the city of angels. Beverly was welcome on Tuesday, September 6, 2021, fresh off a workout with head coach Darvin Ham and Russell Westbrook attending his official introduction as a Laker.
Patrick Beverley on going from playing for the Clippers to the Lakers:
"Very different. Night and day. Walking around the city, you almost get a different respect." –
Beverley played for the Clippers for four seasons after turning down a contract extension he felt was not up to par.
"We in the Western Conference Finals, something the team has never done. So me, being there from the beginning, I'm thinking contract extension. I'm thinking it's gonna be easy. I walk in, and they throw me a number that I felt was borderline disrespectful."
He was initially traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, but they sent him packing to Minnesota until he was packaged to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert.
Where he became a pivotal piece to the Timberwolves returning to the NBA Playoff scene?
Unfortunately, they lost in the first round to the Memphis Grizzlies 4-2, Beverly averaged 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in his ten seasons in the NBA in 487 regular-season games.
Darvin Ham on Patrick Beverley:
“I think he’s going to be a lovely addition to our ball club and a great tone setter … you heard him mention the grit, the grind, just being a dog out there.”
The Lakers stumbled at the point guard position all last season, while Westbrook struggled to find his footing in LA. As a result, Laker Nation wasn't too happy about the trade deal, sending tension throughout the locker room.
Westbrook arguably played his worst season in the NBA, averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in 78 games for the Lakers.
Over the past season, Westbrook has become one of the most criticized players in the NBA for turning the ball over and failing to complete shots from beyond the arch.
Darvin Ham will look to utilize Westbrook and Beverly together.
“fabulously.” I think they complement each other well and wouldn’t want to be an opposing backcourt facing them.
There has been tension between the two players in the past, but Beverly is a true professional committed to making things work in LA with Westbrook as his running mate.
"I believe we will be a backcourt to be reckoned with." He says he’s long wanted to play with Russ. Beverly was sweating from a workout during his presser, and Russ tossed him a towel. Pat called it the “first dime” of the season from Russ.
A promising sign that this experiment could work. Whether or not the pair start together, Darvin Ham believes defense will be the focal point of their success this season. But nothing has been decided yet. Ham mentioned good workouts recently from guards Kendrick Nunn and Austin Reaves and conveyed there will be real competition for the starting guard positions.
Beverley likes corner 3s from the right side, and Russ likes posting on the left. So yes, there is optimism they can run the offense effectively. However, with training camp less than three weeks away, preparation for the upcoming season starts now.