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Shaquille O'Neal does not share the doubts of most basketball analysts regarding the LA Lakers’ acquisition of Patrick Beverley. “Mr. 94 Feet” had the worst three-point shooting of his career last season and his addition could implode the Lakers’ backcourt with Russell Westbrook.
On “The Big Twirl” podcast, Shaq explained why he thought the Lakers got it right when they traded for the former Utah Jazz guard:
“You want a guy like that on the team. A guy like that, you don’t tamper with. I played with a guy like that in GP [Gary Payton]. GP used to come and talk crazy. We gonna say something back? Nope. … You know what that helps you do? Win you your fourth championship.
“Dennis Rodman comes in. Not a lot of practice in the day, shows up late for the pre-game meeting, eating chicken and rice and then gives you 27 rebounds. Sometimes, when you have a guy like that, you leave him alone. … Lakers need a guy like that. LA gonna love Pat Beverley, watch.”
Gary Payton was one of the NBA’s nastiest trash talkers. He and Shaquille O'Neal were teammates on the 2006 Miami Heat team that won the championship. Payton, who was no longer the player he once was at the time, was never short of anything to say.
Despite coming off the bench, he almost always had something to say to both teammates and opponents. It gave the Heat a much-needed edge and a loud locker room presence that was never afraid to call out Dwyane Wade or Shaquille O'Neal himself.
Dennis Rodman, meanwhile, brought a devil-may-care attitude that rubbed opponents the wrong way. He sometimes missed practice, detoured to Las Vegas and wore a gown during his wedding.
When he was on the court, though, no one was better at rebounding and antagonizing opponents.
The Chicago Bulls’ second three-peat was mainly because of Michael Jordan, but Rodman was an incredibly important piece of that dynasty.
Shaquille O'Neal also played alongside Rodman during the 1998-1999 season. “The Worm” averaged 11.2 rebounds per game that season despite playing only 28.6 minutes per contest. He gave Shaq a ton of help cleaning the boards and playing defense.
Shaquille O'Neal has been all praise for Patrick Beverley
Shaquille O'Neal has repeatedly dismissed the notion that Patrick Beverley will not have the impact that Darvin Ham has been looking for from a defensive-minded guard. Shaq sees no reason why basketball fans were throwing shots at Beverley and his potential partnership with Russell Westbrook.
O’Neal has repeatedly said that as long as they stay professional and work towards the same goal, they should both do well in LA. Here's what he had to say to the critics of “Pat Bev” on his podcast:
“Stay off my boy Pat. I’ve got nothing bad to say about Pat. You know why? He plays the game like it’s supposed to be played. Not these dudes making $200, 300 million and can’t play at all.”
Shaq didn’t need to take a shot at Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell when he sang Patrick Beverley’s praise. But he wanted to point out just what type of difference the defensive stalwart could make for the LA Lakers next season.
