Kendrick Perkins: Westbrook will push Beal to ‘another level’

Wizards

Kendrick Perkins: Westbrook will push Beal to ‘another level’

Fans will have to wait a few weeks to truly find out how incoming point guard Russell Westbrook and incumbent face of the franchise Bradley Beal will mesh on the court, but at least one former NBA player thinks it will help the latter immensely.

Kendrick Perkins, a former NBA center who played with Westbrook in Oklahoma City for five seasons, wasn’t shy about the comparison he made for Beal playing alongside Westbrook.

“You can say what you want about Russ, but all I know is that when Paul George played next to him, he was an [All-Star] and MVP candidate,” Perkins tweeted Wednesday night after Westbrook was traded to the Wizards. “He’s gonna push Bradley Beal to another level! Carry on…”

Perkins isn’t wrong about how George thrived next to Westbrook, especially in their second final year together. After the 2018-19 season, George finished third in MVP voting after averaging 28.0 points per game, by far a career-high. Despite those numbers, the Thunder finished just sixth in the Western Conference that season.

George and Beal are obviously very different types of players, but it’s still exciting for Wizards fans to imagine yet another leap coming from their homegrown star.

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In Wall’s absence last season, Beal excelled as a hybrid, combo guard, turning in the best season of his own career. How will he fit next to Westbrook in the same backcourt? It’s not clear just yet.

But at least one longtime NBA vet is convinced that this trade means big things are in store for Beal as he enters his age-27 season – the same age George was in his first year next to Westbrook.