Neither Patrick Beverley nor Rashad McCants seem to be over what happened during a workout both attended for the Los Angeles Lakers more than a decade ago, with Beverley claiming he made McCants “quit” the tryout.
“He quit,” Beverley said of McCants at the 1:58:15 mark. “He quit. Coach [Darvin] Ham said you quit. I don’t have to lie. What story? We hooped. I finished the workout — you didn’t.”
The two talked over each other before Beverley offered some strong words.
“I ain’t never worked out with a person that didn’t finish the workout,” he continued.
McCants offered a response.
“I don’t even know Pat like that to hear those words come out his mouth,” McCants said.
The two continued to go back and forth about the workout for a while longer. The beef dates back all the way to August 2012, when the Lakers were looking to add depth to the team behind superstar Kobe Bryant. Ham was an assistant coach at the time and seemingly involved in the workout.
McCants had played four seasons in the NBA, and like then-Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, was a University of North Carolina product. He had played three-plus seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves before being traded to the Sacramento Kings during the 2008-09 campaign. 27 years old at the time of the workout, McCants had not played in the NBA for three seasons.
Beverley actually was selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft (No. 49 overall) but started his professional career overseas, where he had some success and earned MVP and All-EuroCup First Team honors in the EuroCup for a Russian team. He made his NBA debut for the Houston Rockets in the 2012-13 campaign and has played 11 seasons in the league, including 45 games for the Lakers last season.
The 35-year-old was traded to the Orlando Magic and finished the 2022-23 season with the Chicago Bulls before signing a one-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.
The Lakers finished 45-37 in the 2012-13 season with key players Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace (now Metta Sandiford-Artest) and Steve Nash. They were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs and did not make the postseason for the following six seasons.
Kenyon Martin, Leandro Barbosa and Jodie Meeks reportedly were among the other possibilities to join the Lakers prior to the 2012-13 campaign, along with McCants and Beverley. Meeks was ultimately signed and played in 78 games.
It speaks to the competitive nature of NBA players in general, and Beverley in particular, that the two men continue to argue about what happened in an ultimately unsuccessful workout so long ago.
