Lakers Rumors: LeBron James Has 'No Interest' In Playing with Russell Westbrook

ESPN's Dave McMenamin believes that LeBron James' recent actions suggest that the superstar has no interest in playing another season with Russell Westbrook.

One of the Lakers main objectives this summer has been running an un-convincing public relations campaign that they're content with starting next season with Russell Westbrook. All the while, the Lakers front office has feverishly explored potential deals to ship Westbrook elsewhere. Much of that motivation might be fueled by LeBron James not wanting to spend another season with Westbrook.

In a recent appearance on The Lowe Post podcast, ESPN Lakers beat reporter Dave McMenamin summated the Lakers active trade exploration, coupled with LeBron and Westbrook snubbing each other at a Lakers Las Vegas Summer League game, is a strong indication that LeBron is done with the Russ experiment.

“It’s pretty darn clear that LeBron has seen enough and he has no interest going into another year with Russ as his teammate."

McMenamin also affirmed that whether or not Westbrook is on the roster when LeBron is eligible to sign his contract extension on August 4th could impact his willingness to ink a new deal with the Lakers.

"That something, that in my opinion, should be leveraged on the LeBron Klutch [Sports] side to say, 'Let's get this figured out, I'll commit to you guys for a one-plus-one deal or something like that. Let's clean up the end of this ride we've had together. ...help me help you, I need to have another running mate that will work with me.'"

LeBron has not be afraid to use his superstar status to leverage organizations in contract negotiations or push franchises to trade future draft picks for future players. After all, James is the godfather of the player empowerment era.

Based on McMenamin's comments, the Lakers will have to think long and hard about whether or not they want to trade a first-round pick or two this summer to rid themselves of Russell Westbrook and keep LeBron James in purple and gold beyond this coming season.