Lakers Veteran Makes Eye-Opening Statement On Russell Westbrook

The Los Angeles Lakers have yet to find a trade partner for veteran Russell Westbrook. Everything points to the fact that Russ will enter the new season wearing a purple and gold jersey. Interestingly, the Lakers traded for Patrick Beverley. Many interpreted this as an end to the Russell Westbrook era in LA, but head coach Darvin Ham is already working on lineups using both Russ and Pat Bev.

Westbrook and Beverley have a history together. They call each other names and Westbrook even said his new teammate “don’t guard nobody.” They have been calling out one another for years. Westbrook had to undergo a surgery after a nasty hit from Beverley. In 2019, Russ said, “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he plays defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. It’s just running around doing nothing.”

Beverley is convinced that Westbrook’s statement hurt his reputation in the NBA. During an appearance on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, Bev told JJ Redick that people around the NBA took Westbrook’s words seriously.

“After that, people were just taking the ball, just going at me,” Beverley said prior to teaming up with Westbrook. “I’m like, what the f—? All because of what one person said. … He damaged my career. Like, coaching staffs and players, fans, they looked at me way different. They looked at me like, ‘You know what? He don’t play defense. He just yells and runs around.’ And held onto that and held onto that. And some people still do.”

And now they have to play together.

Lakers veteran says Russell Westbrook could be his best friend

LeBron James said he was super excited about Westbrook’s second year with the team. He has high expectations from the one-time MVP and yes, he really trusts his skill set and experience. The four-time NBA champion even took to Twitter to praise his teammate. Beverley retweeted it right after the Lakers signed him. Westbrook hasn’t said much about his new teammate though.

Beverley talked about his relationship with Westbrook during Lakers media day. Believe it or not, he considers him a friend. A best friend.

“You can’t really take everything you do in the game and put it in real life,” Beverley told reporters. “Since I’ve been here … if I was to have a best friend on the team right now, for sure it’d be him. We spend the most time together. We’ve been locked and lift weights together and all that stuff. So I’m super excited.”