LeBron James admits he's talked to Russell Westbrook over improving his game

The Los Angeles Lakers were ready to trade for Buddy Hield. Instead, Anthony Davis and LeBron James urged them to pursue Russell Westbrook in perhaps one of the most controversial moves in recent history.

Most people thought it was just a matter of time before Westbrook’s arrival backfired. The fit next to the Lakers stars was questionable, and his well-documented record of erratic play didn’t do much to back up his case.

Fast-forward to today and it’s clear that this marriage isn’t working at all. The fans boo him every time he touches the ball, he’s not playing in the clutch, and it’s only gotten worse as of late. For that, LeBron admits they’ve talked to try and work things out.

Lakers News: LeBron James Admits He’s Talked To Russell Westbrook, Won’t Go Into Specifics

“He wants to be better and he wants to put us in a position where we can in ballgames with him on the floor,” LeBron said. “He wants to make plays. He wants to lead this team like he’s capable of doing and like he’s done in his career. He wants to prove to people, prove to himself that he knows he belongs on a championship ball club, or someone that’s aspiring to be a championship ball club. But those are my guesses. I’m not going to tell you exactly our dialogue, but those are my guesses. Because I know the person that he is. I understand that he knew, and we know, what we’re all here for. I just hat that we’re all here right now and it kind of hasn’t worked out that way two-thirds through the season.”

Westbrook Isn’t Pleased With Coach Frank Vogel

To make things even worse, it seems like Westbrook is far from satisfied with the lack of clarity Frank Vogel has given him in terms of the rotation. Then again, he won’t complain and we’ll just try to figure things out:

“You never know when you’re coming in, you never know when you’re coming out. You never know when you’re playing, you never know… a bunch of things,”Westbrook said.”And I’m speaking for me personally, so it’s a difficult process to be able to figure out and create some rhythm and some consistency where we can actually see what we’re able to do as a team, but those decisions are made by him and his coaching staff, and you’ve got to live with it and move on… No. He hasn’t (been clear with his role). But I don’t need him to be clear.He makes whatever decision he makes, and that’s up to him. My job as a professional is to come to work, be in a positive mindset, put my head down and do my work to the best of my ability and be there to encourage my teammates. That’s it.”

Russell Westbrook is as talented as he’s stubborn and that’s been the story with him throughout his whole career. Vogel, on the other side, has a long history of struggling to make timely adjustments, so the Lakers have a recipe for disaster with a $44 million price tab right now.