The Lakers’ acquisition of veteran defensive pest Patrick Beverley on Thursday has raised questions about Russell Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star who is currently struggling.
It’s no secret that the Lakers have been considering trades involving Russell Westbrook for a while now. However, according to numerous reports, those negotiations have stalled because the Lakers refused to include either one or both of their available future first-round picks.
Irving was no longer an option, therefore it appeared likely that Westbrook would open the team’s preseason games at point guard.
Darvin Ham, the new head coach of the Lakers, has already talked about a new offensive strategy for the former MVP that entails making more corner 3-pointers.
Beverley’s addition, however, raises concerns once again about Westbrook’s position with the Lakers. In fact, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that with Patrick Beverley on the roster, it’s more possible that Westbrook won’t play for the Lakers at all in the 2019 campaign. Westbrook may be traded or merely dismissed from the team.
trading, yes. The John Wall Treatment, though? That particular situation hasn’t actually been brought up as a plausible option.
Beverley is a competent starting point guard who might bring some toughness to the Lakers defense, which dropped from being among the best in the NBA in 2020–21 to 21st last year.
Westbrook’s 0.844 points per possession ranked second-to-last among all players with at least 1,000 possessions last season, according to Synergy Sports. However, if he’s willing to accept a new role under Ham, he could potentially offer a lot more dynamism and offensive firepower than Beverley.
The fact that the Lakers would pay Westbrook $47 million to stay at home is indicative of the two parties’ deteriorating relationship. However, a trade would almost certainly require the Lakers to give up at least one of their future picks. Trades involving Myles Turner and Buddy Hield of the struggling Indiana Pacers come to mind.
