3 Lakers who should be outraged if Russell Westbrook isn’t traded

3. Patrick Beverley

Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook have a well-noted beef, making the decision for the Lakers to trade for Beverley very interesting. The two point guards embraced during a workout at the Lakers facility earlier this week and seemed to squash whatever issues they had.

Beverley should not be outraged if Westbrook doesn’t get traded because he has a beef with him. Instead, he should be outraged as having Westbrook on the team complicates Beverley’s role and keeps him from being the best player he can be.

There is this idea that Beverley and Westbrook can play in the same backcourt, which is something that Darvin Ham himself even indicated he wants to experiment with. While Beverley’s career three-point shooting number is solid, he is not a high-volume shooter and pairing him and Westbrook together in the backcourt is not going to lead to great results.

The offensive efficiency between those two is not going to be great and Beverley alone cannot do enough to make up for the defensive inefficiencies of Westbrook’s game. Some believe that this could elevate Russ into a great defensive guard but that simply won’t happen. Westbrook makes far too many defensive mistakes in key moments.

It would be far better for Beverley (and the Lakers) if they simply gave him the keys to be the starting point guard with other talent around him.

3 biggest Lakers issues that will lead to massive ’22-23 disappointment

The Los Angeles Lakers have massive issues with the roster that are ultimately going to lead to disappointment yet again this season.

However, unfortunately, it appears that the team is set on trying to make Russell Westbrook fit next season.