Former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley says Los Angeles is being bogged down by off-court issues

Free agent point guard Patrick Beverley said ‘other s**t’ is getting to the Los Angeles Lakers as they struggle this season.

On an episode of ‘The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone’ from Barstool Sports, the guard opened up about what he saw inside the locker room as a member of the team.

Beverley signed as a free agent with the Lakers this offseason and was traded at the deadline to the Orlando Magic for center Mo Bamba.

He was then waived by the magic, putting him back in free agency and available to sign with any team.

While discussing the struggles the Lakers are facing, Beverley was quick to point out the on-court issues were not the man problems holding the team back.

‘It wasn’t basketball. It wasn’t basketball. It was other s**t,’ Beverley told his podcast co-host.

‘But other s**t that you really can’t like pin or point out. You know, comes and goes. You know, a little bit here, a little bit there.’

When asked if things didn’t ‘click’ with the team, Beverley agreed saying that ‘the vibes were sometimes on, sometimes off’. ‘Inconsistent vibes leads to inconsistent play,’ he added.

Beverley also made a comment about the Lakers fanbase – which is currently not impressed with the team’s 26-32 record.

‘You do something really good, they f**k wit you, you do something really bad they hate you,’ he said.

When his co-host pointed out Beverley’s efforts to try and bring the team closer together, Beverley said that’s what he attempted to do.

‘I tried, I tried. I mean… I tried but things probably could’ve been better, right?,’ Beverley said. ‘Start of the season and all that s**t, but… it wasn’t basketball. But, I mean, most of the times, s**t ain’t basketball. It’s all, how much can you give to the bank, everybody.’

Beverley also opened up about former teammate Russell Westbrook – who he feuded with before they became fellow Lakers together.

His comments also come days after a report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin where a source referred to Westbrook as ‘a vampire’ in the locker room.

Westbrook was traded from the Lakers to the Utah Jazz prior to the trade deadline and he’s expected to be bought out.

Beverley had high praise for Westbrook, saying, ‘You see how Russ is every game day, the first person in the locker room. Every single game.’

‘And I’m on the first bus. LeBron on the first bus too. There are some vets in the league that only take the third bus.

‘But I’m on first bus, Bron’s on first bus, AD’s on first bus, get to the locker room and Russ is there, dressed, like fully worked out already, headphones on locked in.

He went on to praise both LeBron James and Westbrook for how they take care of their bodies and how well they know the game. In particular, Beverley said that he and Westbrook got along better over time after getting to know each other.

‘That’s my dog. Lifetime dog… lot of dinners us together, like we caught a real brother vibe,’ Beverley explained. 

‘It was some real s**t though… I didn’t know he knew the game of basketball the way he know the game. He know the game in and out.’