Swanson: Russell Westbrook has warm welcome for Patrick Beverley, but will unlikely duo lift the Lakers?
EL SEGUNDO — Once you wrap your head around the notion that Russell Westbrook will, indeed, be a Laker again next season, consider this: Maybe the best move the Lakers could have made for a roster with him on it was to bring in his archnemesis.
Because in the NBA, if you play long enough, you’ll see the guy who’s always been the villain in your story become your ally.
The two strong-headed veteran guards were in tune on Tuesday, when Westbrook stood in the wings for Beverley’s introductory news conference, the only one of his new Lakers teammates in attendance.
What’s more, Westbrook was an enthusiastic participant, chuckling at Beverley’s jokes and even tossing his new teammate a towel to dab away some of the sweat dripping from his chin after a workout.
“Thank you! Love that, brother,” Beverley said. “First dime of the year!”
Then he laughed. Everyone laughed.
The energy in the room was much more upbeat than it was around the team last season, when bad basketball and bad feelings left the Lakers outside of the playoffs, looking in.
Their failings – they went 33-49 and finished 11th in the Western Conference – meant they’d squandered another year of LeBron James’ fine, inevitably finite career.
It left fans increasingly disillusioned with the direction of the franchise – “one of America’s teams,” as Beverley described the Lakers – just two seasons after the championship run in the Orlando bubble.
And it left noticeable smudges on Westbrook’s legacy. In his first season playing for his hometown Lakers, the former NBA MVP was ineffective and inefficient, available to play but undependable on the court. And, ultimately, the man sure seemed unhappy.
But it’s not difficult to imagine him wanting a reset, with Beverley, and with his city. Not hard to see how much it would mean to Westbrook to win in L.A.
This guy grew his game at Lawndale’s Leuzinger High and UCLA. He brings his family to Sparks games in the summer. His “Why Not? Foundation” partnered with LA Promise Fund to launch a middle school and high school in the city.
He was there at new coach Darvin Ham’s introductory news conference. He sat near the Lakers’ bench (though apart from James) at a Summer League game.
And now, Westbrook has shown up to Beverley’s first media session with the team, listening attentively as Beverley claimed their pairing is, for him, something of a dream come true.
“I was asked this question two, three years ago, (about) someone I always wanted to play with and he was the first name,” Beverley said. “… a player with that competitive spirit, that fire, that will, that dog, that nastiness, that grit, to have a running mate like that, I have never had that. So I am super excited to see where it goes.”
Their history of run-ins, on-court collisions and off-court disses might seem like a strange way for Beverley to have shown his affinity – but, hey, Pat Bev’s love language is smack-talk.
The 6-foot-1 Beverley will give the Lakers another ball-handler when they need it. He’ll ratchet up the defense. But more importantly, he’ll bring gravity – on the court, where he’s a career 37.8% 3-point shooter – and in the locker room, where he’s a truth-teller who hasn’t ever minced a word, whether he’s critiquing teammates or Chris Paul or Kevin Durant.
In Houston, with the Clippers and last season in Minnesota, Beverley has proved himself an example of a guy who doesn’t give a droplet of sweat about his stats – well, except one.
“I pride myself on never ever missing the playoffs,” said Beverley, whose teams haven’t whiffed on the postseason any year he’s been a healthy participant. “To people, that might not be a big thing. But for me, that is a big thing obviously, because I am not at All-Star (Game) every February. So me making the playoffs, me not making the playoffs, that is a big thing to me and I wear that wholeheartedly on my sleeve.”
The Westbrook-Beverley pairing won’t determine whether win the Lakers a championship – the onus for that rests squarely on the shoulders of Anthony Davis and James – but if it goes sideways, it could sink the Lakers’ prospects entirely.
For now, everyone is saying the right things. Saying is different than doing, of course, but you gotta talk it before you back it up, and Ham raved about that part of Westbrook’s commitment so far.
“Anytime I call him or I need him, text messages, the communication has been great both ways,” Ham said, “He’s in here. He’s in here putting in the work. I love him and I can’t wait to coach him and I can’t wait to succeed with him.”
Ham also said, yes, he can imagine a starting backcourt of 33-year-old Westbrook and 34-year-old Beverley – “if they play defense.”
And we all know Beverley is gonna play D. The question is whether this combustible pairing will prove a problem for the rest of the league – or the Lakers.