David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Patrick Beverley is giving everyone bulletin board material, even his new teammates with the Lakers — LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
Defense may be what has defined Patrick Beverley’s career but you could argue that trash talk, and the confidence that undergirds it, is his most outlier trait. Over the years he has gotten into and out of wars or words with Devin Booker, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, the entire Lakers’ bench, Ja Morant, Steph Curry and that’s literally just the first page of Google search results.
The man is not afraid of anyone, up to and including his teammates.
For example, when asked a question about playing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis this season, Beverley pointed out some problems with the construction of the question.
What did Patrick Beverley say about LeBron James and Anthony Davis?
Beverley’s self-confidence comes out like a firehose but there could be some benefits to him publicly soaking his more accomplished teammates.
James, Westbrook and Davis at times appeared to struggle with engagement and intensity last season, particularly on the defensive end. For better or worse, Beverley is going to force his teammates to meet his level of intensity or be publicly embarrassed. The Lakers may still face some deficits in skill and depths compared to other Western Conference rosters. But if every player on their team plays as hard as Beverley it could compensate for a lot of shortcomings.