Lakers Rumors: Pat Beverley 'Thrilled' to Join LA amid Past Russell Westbrook Tension

Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley are two alpha personalities who have clashed in the past, but now they will have to co-exist as teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Beverley is being traded from the Utah Jazz to L.A. in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson.

Despite the bad blood with Westbrook, Wojnarowksi noted that Beverley is "eager to join the Lakers" and was "thrilled to learn of the impending deal."

Both guards have had a war of words through the media over the years. The peak of the feud came in 2019 when Westbrook dismissed Beverley's defensive skills after a game between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.

The bitterness between Beverley and Westbrook has continued since 2019.

As Westbrook was going through his on-court struggles amid the Lakers' descent in the Western Conference standings last season, Beverley poked the bear when he sent out this tweet in February:

After Westbrook dismissed the trash talk from several Minnesota Timberwolves' players following the Lakers' 124-104 loss on March 16, Beverley again chimed in on Twitter:

Westbrook certainly isn't the only player who has been on the receiving end of trash talk from Beverley. The 34-year-old has gone after Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Rudy Gobert, among others.

Following the Phoenix Suns' Game 7 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals, Beverley went on ESPN's Get Up and called Paul a "cone" on defense.

Beverley has carried a large chip on his shoulder after having to fight for years to get into the NBA. He was a second-round draft pick in 2009 by the Lakers, who traded his draft rights to the Miami Heat.

After the Heat cut Beverley before the start of the 2009-10 season, he played three years overseas. It wasn't until the Houston Rockets signed him in January 2013 that he was able to stick in the NBA.

Given Westbrook's tenuous status with the Lakers, there's always the chance that these two rivals don't play in a game together.

Since there's no indication at this point that a Westbrook trade is anywhere close to happening, it will be interesting to see if the animosity with Beverley remains if they are on the same team.