Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley are now teammates after the Utah Jazz sent the controversial point guard to Los Angeles in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson. As soon as this move was announced, many people brought up the long-time beef between Bev and Russ, predicting how awkward their interactions would be.
- Shaquille O’Neal Predicts Russell Westbrook And Patrick Beverley Will Make Amends On Lakers
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Bev has stated he wants to see Russ succeed next season, just like LeBron said, but not everybody is convinced that the bad blood between them has disappeared. However, there are always ways to make amends, and one former Laker believes they can work things out for the team’s sake.
Shaquille O’Neal is somebody who has beefed with many people during and after his NBA career, so he’s one that knows very well how this works and what could happen to Russ and Bev to bury the hatchet and end this long-time beef.
Shaquille O’Neal Predicts Russell Westbrook And Patrick Beverley Will Make Amends On Lakers
During a recent edition of his The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal talked about his old feuds, especially with Alonzo Mourning, admitting that the Miami Heat legend was actually cool, which made him feel bad for disliking Mourning for many years. He expressed that the same could happen to Westbrook and Beverley, but it won’t come that easy (10:10).
“I had beef with Alonzo Mourning. And then when he came to the Miami Heat, I had to sit around and apologize. I said ‘You know what Alonzo? I was a hypocrite.’ … Alonzo Mourning is a great dude. But like, we never talked to each other because he’ll make that face, I’ll make that face.
… He came back in Miami and helped me with my fourth championship. … Once he got in that locker room. I was like, ‘Man this dude is really really cool.’ … So, when they get in the locker room. If we know Russ is still happy and you know happy to be there and all that good stuff, they should be all right.”
These things happen all the time in the NBA. It’s easy for players to let their competitiveness get in their way, and sometimes, they start hating on others for the sake of that. As Shaq stated, things could be good for the Lakers if Russ and Pat stop beefing with each other, but right now, we don’t know what type of relationship they have.
There are precedents of this, but with all the rumors surrounding Westbrook, we might end up not seeing him making up with Bev at all.
