Los Angeles Lakers

While the Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to a much bigger name than Patrick Beverley, the former LA resident certainly wouldn’t be a bad backup plan for a team hoping to return to the pinnacle next season.

While LeBron James and company may still be holding out hope that the Brooklyn Nets will agree to send Kyrie Irving their way, they may be better off swallowing the reality that they’ll have to run it back with Russell Westbrook.

Ironically, a good way to ensure that their sequel season with Russ on board may be to trade for one of his most infamous archrivals in the league. As much animosity as he and Beverley have for each other, there’s no denying that they’d make a pretty decent backcourt pairing.

Their strengths and weaknesses perfectly complement each other’s, and Westbrook certainly needs a steady defensive presence alongside him to keep him grounded.

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The formula for a successful LeBron-led team was always to surround him with as many 3-and-D players as possible. Beverley is perhaps the league’s best 3-and-D guard remaining. The Los Angeles Lakers may finally have found the right partner for their Talen Horton-Tucker package.