Recently the Lakers signed veteran defensive player Patrick Beverley, sparking speculation about the status of troubled nine-time All-Star Russell Westbrook going forward.
It’s no mystery that the team has been excited at trades that involved Russell Westbrook for a long time, with multiple sources saying that probable deals have been rejected due to the Lakers’ reluctance to include one or both of their future initial-round picks that were available. With Irving now off the table, it looks plausible that the players will be entering the training camp with Westbrook as their first-choice point guard. New Lakers manager Darvin Ham has already structured a new offensive tactic for the former Most Valuable Player that comprises shooting a lot of corner 3-pointers.
However, the induction of Beverley has led to speculations and questions about the future of Westbrook with the team. In fact, with Beverley in the squad, it’s more plausible that Westbrook will not have game time at all for the Lakers in the forthcoming season, according to reports from trusted sources. Westbrook could either get swapped to some other team or the Lakers might simply release him.
Beverley Arrival Assures Russell Westbrook Exit
Beverley’s arrival has made it more likely that Russell Westbrook will be in the reserve bench by the start of upcoming season, either through a deal or the Lakers might send him home.
Traded, probably. But the John Wall Procedure? That’s a probability that hasn’t been looked at as a realistic possibility. Beverley is a quite promising starting point guard and can potentially add a lot of grit to the Lakers defensive structure that went from an NBA-best in 2020-21 all the way to a horrendous 21st in the last season. Westbrook was cited responsible for the decline and was tagged as the worst offensive player in the team last season. He scored 0.844 points per game and was second-to-last for a player having a minimum of 1,000 possessions. However if the athlete is willing to get on with a new role under the managing of Ham, he can provide a lot more dynamic flairs and offensive prowess than Beverley.