Is Beverley signing with Lakers a sign Westbrook will be off the roster?

Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook have a beef that goes back nearly a decade, to the first round of the 2013 playoffs, when Beverley went for a steal, hit Westbrook’s knee and tore his meniscus (all but ending one of the most promising Thunder seasons). The animosity between the pair has continued over the years, with Westbrook doing his “rock the baby” on Beverley whenever he gets the chance, and Westbrook saying in 2019, “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. He just running around, doing nothing.” Beverley answered.

Pat Bev/Russell Westbrook beef still real.

Bev mocking Westbrook’s brick at end of game followed by Russ repeatedly calling him trash pic.twitter.com/RydEInLWcu

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 23, 2019

As of Thursday, Westbrook and Beverley are teammates after the Lakers traded for Beverley.

Can two players fueled by emotion put aside their long-standing beef to be teammates?

Or is this a sign that the Lakers are close to trading Westbrook before the start of training camp? Jovan Buha of The Athletic says a source told him that’s the case.

Beverley’s arrival makes it more likely that Westbrook will be off the active roster by the start of training camp, either through a trade or the team sending him home a la the Rockets with John Wall last season, according to a source close to the situation.

LeBron may have hinted at it, too.

Can't wait for him to go off this season!!