EL SEGUNDO — Patrick Beverley cut to the chase at the Lakers’ preseason media day on Monday.

The question, as I posed it to him: As an opponent with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, what were his impressions of the Lakers during their 33-49 playoff-less campaign?

“The will factor,” Beverley said.

“Are they willing to get back on defense? Are they willing to do the small things? Are they – I didn’t think so with the unit that they had last year. There’s no discredit to anyone. But as a basketball player, as you know, I feel like I have, I don’t know, a top-10, top-11 mind in the NBA when it comes to IQ (of) basketball. … I didn’t know if they had the will factor. I didn’t know if they wanted to make the extra rotation. I don’t know if they wanted to, you know, get on the floor, get dirty, scrape your knees for a loose ball. I didn’t know that.

“As a leader, going to a team like that, if they didn’t do it, then I’ll do it and hopefully people will pick up from there, you know? So that’s how I care. I try to lead by action.”

If that holds up – and PatBev’s track record indicates it will – he might be the single most important acquisition of the summer for reasons that involve attitude rather than star power.

If Darvin Ham truly intends to make good on his statement Monday that “we’ve got to have a defensive mindset, and those are the guys (who do) who are going to get minutes,” the guy who sets the example will be the guy who has made a 10-year NBA career out of scrapping, agitating and embracing the pest’s role.

This, for example, was the example when the 6-foot-1 Beverley was asked if he had any problem defending bigger guards.

“I guard everybody. Exactly. I mean, nothing changes for me. I’m just going to work again. ‘Coach, who you want me to get? You want me to get LeBron today?’ ‘Yeah, go get ’em, Pat. You want K.D.?’ ‘Yeah, I want him.’ ‘All right, you go Pat.’

“So they don’t change for me, it’s just, you know, I’m a blue-collar guy. Coach, tell me what you need to be done. I’ll do it. I’m that guy.”

K.D., of course, is 6-10 Kevin Durant, and for those who don’t recall Beverley indeed guarded Durant at one point during a Clippers-Warriors playoff series three years ago. Not only that, but he acted as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Defense is largely attitude and effort. And the Lakers were third from last in the league in opposition points per game (115.1) and 21st out of 30 in defensive rating (113.3 points per 100 possessions).

There’s enough capability for big moments at both ends from the Big Three, assuming said Big Three stays intact.

LeBron James isn’t going anywhere, of course, not with a three-year contract in hand and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record in sight. General Manager Rob Pelinka made it clear Monday that the main consideration in any potential moves – including ones that might involve the two remaining first-round draft picks the Lakers have this decade, 2027 and 2029 – is to honor that commitment James made by committing to the pursuit of championships.

“You have one shot to make a trade with multiple picks,” Pelinka said. “So if you make that trade – and I’m not talking about any particular player on the team – but if you make that trade, it has to be the right one.”

So you have James defying Father Time and Anthony Davis trying to stay on the court. Last season, remember, the 37-year-old James played 56 of 82 games. Davis played just 40 in between knee and ankle injuries. And you have Russell Westbrook, who played 78 of the 82 games but whose presence in a Laker uniform at 2022 media day probably meant some bets had to be settled.

Ham has publicly talked up Westbrook’s potential role since getting the job in June, and the two have evidently communicated frequently, which would be a stark contrast to the frostiness between Westbrook and Frank Vogel at the end. Westbrook told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski he was “all-in on whatever it takes for this team to win. I’m prepared for whatever comes my way.”

But when asked Monday if he felt the Lakers were still committed to him, Westbrook said, “Whether they want me here or not doesn’t really matter, honestly.”  That’s a perfectly sensible approach, especially in a business where loyalty is based on wins and losses.

Related Articles

Oh, and as for the assumed blood feud between Westbrook and Beverley as opponents? Buried a long time ago, Beverley said.

“I’ve been here three weeks and a half, maybe four,” he said. “And I’m just guessing, if I had to pick a best friend out of the team – you know, you usually have one – it’d be him. And obviously, I’m not saying that because you guys are right here. He (was) at my press conference. We hit the weights together. And I mean, not like team weight stuff. We in the lab (at) six, 6:30 in the morning together.

“People don’t understand that. You guys think that we have the worst relationship in the world. … I know a lot of you guys don’t like each other, either,” he added with a laugh. “So it’s just that same vibe. But when you get two people who love winning, two alpha males, you put it together and it usually works.

“So I’m super excited to see how it goes.”

If it works, this could be fun. If it doesn’t, who do you suppose takes the fall?

[email protected]