Los Angeles Lakers training camp is officially open, and Russell Westbrook spoke to the media about his new teammate and once on-court enemy Patrick Beverly.
Many wondered about the fit of the two stars, and Westbrook let the media know that any past issue didn’t need any special effort to smooth over.
“I’m an easygoing guy,” Westbrook said. “I don’t hold grudges against anybody. Life is too short. We’ve been blessed with too many opportunities and platforms to walk around and hold grudges. I just continue to move forward.
“Obviously, when I’m on the court, I don’t have any friends other than that basketball and the people that’s on my team, so I compete. Other than that, off the floor, I’m just a normal guy that likes to have fun.”
Speaking with Lakers Insider Dave McMenamin during Lakers Media Day, Beverly stated the two have struck up a bond since Beverly’s arrival in L.A.
According to Beverly, he and Westbrook come in to train together before 7 a.m. and have become gym partners.
“You can’t really take everything you do in the game and put it in real life,” Beverley told ESPN. “Since I’ve been here … if I was to have a best friend on the team right now, for sure it’d be him. We spend the most time together. We’ve been locked and lift weights together and all that stuff. So I’m super excited.”
Beverly then got a joke off about their new friendship.
“We went on this boat ride, you feel me? It was just us two. It was real intimate,” Beverley said. “It was 2,000 candles, you feel me? He landed in a helicopter. I came in one of my underwater vessels. We talked three hours over wine. He had a two-Michelin-star chef come pull up, cook some steaks. I had my chef pull up and make the desserts. And that’s how we got to where we are now.”
