Patrick Beverley has fired some shots at Los Angeles Lakers fans for how they treat their players. When a fan called Beverley a hater for questioning the Dorian Finney-Smith trade, he called out Lakers fans for being toxic to their own players.
“And if we’re being honest the moment he doesn’t shoot well, Lakers fans (gonna) destroy him. Russ (Russell Westbrook), beaZ (Malik Beasley), TP (Taurean Prince). It’s y’all on Twitter that be killing players so don’t get mad.”
Lakers fans can certainly be accused of being a bit too harsh on their players at times. They have high expectations from those who wear Purple and Gold and when the players fail to match them, they can cross a line with their criticism.
Beverley brought up Malik Beasley and Russell Westbrook in his post and not only did they get abused, but so did their families. Beasley once called out Lakers fans for upsetting comments on a birthday post he had made for his son. Westbrook’s wife Nina, meanwhile, revealed she and her family had received death threats. It’s all just so upsetting.
As for Beverley, this isn’t the first time he has called out Lakers fans for this kind of behavior. He, of course, played 45 games for the franchise during the 2022-23 season and doesn’t look back too fondly on his experience with Laker Nation. Beverley had a simple explanation for why Chicago Bulls fans are better than Lakers fans.
“I play a bad game with Chicago, I ain’t gotta look on Twitter and hear, ‘he’s a bum, get him outta here!’ Like I was hearing that sh*t in L.A,” Beverley said.
The players aren’t the only ones subjected to some rough treatment either. Lakers governor Jeanie Buss revealed she had received death threats from their fans too.
This is simply unacceptable behavior but, unfortunately, it’s starting to become the norm now among fans in general. Social media allows them to say whatever they want without having to suffer any consequences. At worst, their account gets deleted and they just make another one.
Getting back to Beverley, this all started when he stated that D’Angelo Russell would thrive with the Brooklyn Nets but he wasn’t sure about Finney-Smith and the Lakers. While no trade can be deemed a slam-dunk success before the players have played for their new teams, this might be pretty close to one.
Finney-Smith is exactly who the Lakers needed. They haven’t had a great 3-and-D wing in recent years and he is one of the better ones in the league today. Finney-Smith was averaging 10.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Nets in 2024-25 while shooting 43.5% from three.
As Beverley, who now plays for Hapoel Tel Aviv, pointed out, though, if those threes aren’t falling, Finney-Smith should brace himself for some abuse. You hope for his sake that he gets off to a good start.
As for Russell, he should do well with the Nets. He will get a bigger role with them, having spent much of this season coming off the bench for the Lakers and that should help him get a bigger deal when he’s a free agent in the upcoming offseason. This is really a win-win trade for both parties.
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