Chicago Bulls guard Patrick Beverley wants a championship ring if the Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA Finals this season - and so does former teammate Russell Westbrook, Beverley claims.
The two guards started the season on the Lakers before the team decided to trade both on trade deadline day during the regular season. Beverley played 45 games, while Westbrook played a further seven before both left the franchise on February 9.
Westbrook was the first to exit, ending up on the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team, eight-player deal. The trade saw the Lakers receive Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Jazz, plus former Laker D’Angelo Russell, whom they drafted back in 2015, from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Beverley was soon on the move too. The Orlando Magic acquired him in a four-team trade that saw the Lakers add Mo Bamba. But the Florida-based franchise did not require the veteran to report, and they agreed to a contract buyout three days later.
After being waived, Beverley eventually joined his hometown Bulls. With Chicago failing to make the playoffs after losing to the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament, Beverley is back in LA during the off-season and works out in the same gym as Westbrook.
He shared a story from Wednesday's workout on his eponymous The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone. As Beverley recalls, Westbrook told him, "Hey Pat, Lakers win (the championship), I want my ring."
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Neither have previously been on a championship-winning team. The closest either have come to doing so was when Westbrook was a part of the Oklahoma City Thunder team that reached the 2012 NBA Finals.
OKC lost in five games to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat, as James claimed his first of four championships. A decade on, the Lakers pairing LeBron and Anthony Davis with Westbrook, at the players' behest, was a bad fit and led to the latter's trade to Utah.
The stay in Salt Lake City was short for the 2017 NBA MVP, as the two reached a contract buyout agreement. Two days later, Westbrook was back in LA, but this time as a Los Angeles Clippers player.
Alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, their new addition helped them to the five seed, setting up a first round series with the Phoenix Suns. With George out injured, Westbrook took on additional responsibilities on offense during the postseason.
After taking Game One, the Suns rallied and tied the series in Game Two. Leonard, who played through a knee injury in that game, would miss the rest of the series as the undermanned Clippers lost the next three straight to exit the playoffs.
While Westbrook and the Clippers may be out of contention, the former Laker seems to be rooting for his former employers. The Lakers are tied 1-1 with the Golden State Warriors in their Western Conference semifinals series.
