By now you have heard that Lamar Odom and the Dallas Mavericks have “mutually agreed” to part ways, ending their tumultuous relationship.
Now that the two parties have parted ways, Mavs’ Donnie Nelson fired off, comparing Odom to “wet gunpowder.”
“It’s like going to war with wet gunpowder,” Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said.
Well that pretty much sums up Odom’s time in Dallas. Here was a player who came in with a stellar resume, a champion with the Lakers and brought the Mavs much-needed size to contend in the Western Conference. But this never came to fruition.
Odom was burdened with many personal issues, obviously did not want to be in Dallas, and longed to be in Los Angeles. Add the fact the Mavs are looking to defend their NBA crown, and Odom not living up to expectations, something had to give and in the end, this was needed for all involved.
However, this says a lot about Odom and his professionalism.
Granted, he was dealing with personal problems (family, for example) but it is not like other NBA players have dealt with personal problems, played through them and continued to contribute for their team. At most their respective team would give them an excused absence but would come back to the team in a timely fashion and contribute to their team.
But not Odom.
In essence, he whined his way out of a team, and just couldn’t do what he was paid to do — be a professional basketball player. Instead, he poured in some of his worst career stats: 6.6 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, while shooting 35% from the field.
Now one has to wonder what kind of precedent this sets for other players looking to get out of their team?
However, what is next for Lamar? Has Odom’s issues in Dallas make him much harder to trade? Perhaps. Will the Lakers make a move to bring back Odom? Perhaps. Will any team take a chance on Odom thinking he might pull the same act with their team?
But if you are the Mavs, one thing is for sure, having Lamar gone will definitely be one less distraction on the team, and now they can focus on taking some positives steps heading into the post-season.
