LeBron James voiced his opinion on Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook has been the Lakers' player that has received the most hate in the last couple of years. Last season wasn't the best for Russ, at least not up to his standards. Now the Lakers are trying to send him away no matter what. But despite all the hate towards the former MVP, LeBron James decided to voice his support.

Russell Westbrook wasn't that bad last season pre se. The former MVP ended the campaign with 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 78 games. Those are not bad numbers for a regular player, but Westbrook is not a regular player, as a former MVP thing was expected from him. But this was his worst season since his second year in the league.

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The Lakers have repeatedly offered Russell Westbrook as part of any trade. It seems no matter what, Westbrook will leave the Lakers either before the start of the season or a few weeks into the season. Still, if Westbrook's future is with the Lakers or not, LeBron James still believes his current teammates will have a great campaign next season.

NBA analyst and LeBron James' friend 'CuffsTheLegend'  argued that the vitriol and disrespect towards Russell should be gone by now. Comment to which LeBron responded that he can wait to see him go off. Maybe he ends up having a campaign similar to the 2014 or to his 2016 form.

Will Westbrook play up to his potential?

The truth is that Russell Westbrook's stats have been in decline since he won the MVP back in the 206-17 season. Year by year, his numbers have gone down, getting to his third worst last season. Still, he has potential, but last year he had to do too much for the Lakers as LeBron and Davis were injured for big chunks of the season. We'll see if he can go back to his top form.