Having two players who have had a lot of arguments and altercations between them play for the same team certainly sounds like the brightest of ideas. However, the Los Angeles Lakers were aware of it before they traded for Patrick Beverley.
We are talking about Pat Bev’s beef with none other than Russell Westbrook. When Westbrook was a part of the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was one of the best players in the league.
Due to his freakish athleticism, it seemed almost impossible to stop him. As a result, players had to rely on other strategies to try and stop Russ. Be it simply fouling him or trying to get inside his head, Patrick Beverley is someone who has tried everything on Westbrook.
While sometimes Beverley’s tactics have worked, more often than not, they have failed against Westbrook. Evidently, over the years, the two players have exchanged a lot of words with each other.
But arguably the most iconic moment of the beef took place in 2019 when Russ took a shot at Pat Bev’s ability to defend. Being good on the defensive end of the floor is the biggest asset that Beverley has in his arsenal, but as per Russ, Pat Bev simply tricked fans into believing that was the case.
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“Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. It’s just running around, doing nothing. … All that commotion to get 47.”
It has been almost three years since Russ called out Beverley. But the NBA has always been unpredictable, and now Russ will share the locker room with Beverley.
Amidst rumors about Westbrook getting traded, many have started to believe that trading for Patrick Beverley is not a positive sign for the future of the former MVP with the Los Angeles Lakers.
