When the Lakers agreed to trade Talen Horton-Tucker to the Jazz for Patrick Beverley, Los Angeles added two key elements to its team that were missing last season: three-point shooting and strong perimeter defense.
As one of the better three-and-D players in the league along with his underrated playmaking abilities, Beverley could be the ideal piece on both sides of the ball for Los Angeles and the perfect role player alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Per ESPN Stats and Info, the twitchy guard allowed opponents to shoot 41.9% as the closest defender, the second-best percentage within the past five years.
He also connected on more than or close to 40% percent of his shots from beyond the arc in six of the past seven seasons, giving the Lakers a much-needed boost in this category.
But Beverley’s arrival to Los Angeles reportedly signals the end to the Russell Westbrook story in L.A. By the start of the Lakers training camp, the franchise is expected to trade or send Westbrook home in accordance with how the Rockets did John Wall last season, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
Beverley and Westbrook have some unsettled animosity between the two dating back to 2013 when Beverley dove for a loose ball at the knee of the future MVP as Westbrook attempted to call a timeout. As a result, Westbrook, who was then a member of the Thunder, suffered a torn meniscus that knocked him out for the rest of the playoffs. The two guards have also sparred back and forth in news conferences and on social media, with Beverley calling Westbrook “trash” at one point.
While it is no secret that Westbrook has not forgiven the strong-willed guard for the injury nearly a decade ago, trying to get the two settle their differences could be difficult. But James believes the two will be able to play together. And when Darvin Ham took the job as the Lakers head coach, he stated he had a plan for the former ’17 MVP.
“I love Russell Westbrook,” Ham told Andscape’s Marc Spears in July. “I think he’s going to flourish. We ain’t going to try to curtail his energy. We’re just going to diversify it, redirect it.”
Last season, Westbrook’s production and efficiency dropped significantly in his first campaign in Los Angeles. In 78 games, Westbrook averaged 18.5 points per game while posting his career-worst 15.0 PER. In June, he opted into his $47.1 million player option for the 2022 to ’23 season.
