Lamar Odom was sent home from the Dallas Mavericks last season because he lacked effort, intensity and really didn’t seem to care about the game of basketball. He was bummed about getting traded from the Lakers (twice) and also had some personal problems he was dealing with. It’s pretty much guaranteed he won’t be on the Mavericks roster next season and his contract is only partially guaranteed. So it’s a no-brainer he’s going to get waived, right? Not so much. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Los Angeles Clippers have engaged the Mavs in trade talks involving Odom.
Yet the deal, sources said, could hinge on the willingness of a third team to take on the contract of Clippers veteran guard Mo Williams, which would allow the Dallas Mavericks to send Odom to the Clippers with no significant money coming back to the Mavericks. With a Friday deadline looming for the Dallas Mavericks to buy out the final year of Odom’s contract for $2.4 million, Mavs officials have green-lighted Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, to try to find a new home for Odom this week via trade. The Mavericks and Schwartz also have discussed pushing the deadline back into July if an Odom trade can’t be struck before Friday.
There aren’t a lot of teams outisde of the Lakers where I’d say Odom would be a good fit, but the Clippers (along with the Heat) would be a good place for Odom to go. He could be the third big man, could play next to Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan. He’d be in LA near his wife Khloe, for the organization he began his career with. And most non-Laker fans would probably enjoy the fact that the Lakers traded Odom for nothing and wouldn’t be able to bring him back in because they didn’t have any money or assets to get him back. Any good team could use an engaged Lamar Odom. If anyone can motivate Odom to play all out, it’s Chris Paul, right?
