The Los Angeles Lakers have finally done it. They have made their first major signing before the start of the 2022-23 NBA season. The Lakers have decided to improve on the defensive end of the court by trading for Utah Jazz point guard Patrick Beverley.
Throughout his career in the NBA, Pat Bev has built a reputation of being a vocal player whose stats do not pop up in the box score. He’s someone who holds the ability to get inside the head of his opposing players with his ability to trash talk.
In addition to that, Beverley is very passionate about the game of basketball. So much so that the 34-year-old is not even shy of calling out his teammates if they are wrong about something.
Due to these characteristics, Pat Bev tricks as an egoistical player to many. But wait, that’s not the worst thing that the Lakers have to worry about. The biggest worry that the Lakers have on their hands is how Beverley will adjust to playing together with his longtime rival Russell Westbrook.
The two players have indulged in several altercations over the years. Due to this beef, many believe that the Lakers might have made a mistake after trading for Patrick Beverley.
On that note, NBA analyst Skip Bayless recently wrote a hilarious tweet about how Pat Bev taking some of Russ’ minutes might result in the Lakers locker room atmosphere being similar to that of WWE.
PatBev to the Lakers? The bad blood between him and Westbrook dates back a decade. And now he'll take some of Westbrook's minutes? This is better than WWE. It's now "SideShowtime."
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) August 25, 2022
PatBev to the Lakers? The bad blood between him and Westbrook dates back a decade. And now he’ll take some of Westbrook’s minutes? This is better than WWE. It’s now “SideShowtime.”
The Lakers are very desperate about not repeating the same mistakes that they made last season by ignoring the defensive side of affairs when creating a roster.
Keeping that in mind, a player like Pat Bev is a very valuable addition to the Purple and Gold. But if he and Russell Westbrook do not manage to gel together, it will ultimately have a negative impact on the rest of the roster.
