The 2022-23 season was a tale of two halves for the Los Angeles Lakers. They were one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA early on, plummeting in the standings as they attempted to navigate injuries to their stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
On February 9th, the Lakers’ record dropped to 25-31 after a 115-106 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. That marked the start of the team’s turnaround, as their blockbuster deals at the NBA trade deadline were consummated.
Los Angeles made two trades; one a four-team deal with the Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and LA Clippers, the other a three-team deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz. The first one resulted in Davon Reed and Mo Bamba landing with the Lakers, while the second had D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley heading to Los Angeles.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Patrick Beverley, Philadelphia 76ers & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Russell recently made an appearance on Patrick Beverley’s podcast and the Lakers were discussed. Beverley started the season with the purple and gold but was part of the four-team trade, landing with the Magic. He never made it to Orlando, as he was bought out and signed with his hometown Chicago Bulls for the stretch run. Beverley signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.
Part of the discussion was how different things were for both of them in Los Angeles. While Russell’s was positive, Beverley’s was negative. Their experiences can be summed up by this exchange provided by Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
“I don’t know what it was before we got here …” Russell said.
“Not fun. Not fun at all. That’s what it was,” Beverley said.
“Y’all was getting your a** kicked,” Russell said.
“Yeah. On and off the court. Factual,” Beverley said.
The Lakers would finish the regular season 18-8, earning a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. They faced off against Russell’s old team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, winning 108-102 in overtime.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Patrick Beverley, Philadelphia 76ers & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Los Angeles would ride that momentum into the postseason, where they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round and Golden State Warriors in the semifinals. Their run was stopped by the eventual NBA Champion Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, where they were swept.
It would certainly be interesting to hear what Beverley had to say if he were to have gone in-depth on what he meant by on and off the court. Playing on a LeBron James-led team certainly comes with some difficulties, but usually results in a lot of winning. That wasn’t the case for Beverley, as he had one of the worst seasons of his career production wise and experienced only the second losing season of his career.
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