OK I promise this will be the last post here at Crossover you will read about Lamar Odom and the Dallas 
Mavericks but before I do, there is just one more aspect to this fall out between the two parties — this time it involves Mark Cuban.
Usually when your boss has you on his radar, that’s not a good thing and for Odom it was perhaps the nail in the coffin for his time in Dallas. You see, when an NBA owner (who signs your checks) questions a player’s commitment and said player fires back, that’s not a good thing.
According to ESPN, Cuban and Odom had a heated exchange when Cuban questioned Odom’s level of commitment during halftime at Odom’s final game versus Memphis.
Sources told ESPNDallas.com that the heated words were “the culmination” of an exasperating weekend, when Odom was tardy to the team’s Friday home game against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Saturday morning meeting in Memphis. That convinced team officials to initiate discussions on Easter Sunday that led to the parties agreeing to split for the rest of the season.
Cuban confirmed Tuesday evening that the crux of the heated halftime confrontation was Cuban questioning Odom’s commitment. Odom, who had played only four minutes in the first half, reacted angrily to the question and did not take his seat on the bench until after the third quarter began.
“Well, yeah,” Cuban said when asked whether that exchange was the final straw. “Just his response to it. Everybody goes through ups and downs. Every player does. We tried to put him in a position to succeed. You guys saw it, saw what we did. It didn’t work.
“And I just asked him, does he want to go for it or not? Is he in or is he out? I think he thought we were playing poker. I just didn’t get a commitment. And that was the end.”
I find this story just fascinating. This is putting in the spotlight the other side of the NBA that probably doesn’t get reported on by the media. It is showing how Odom (an established NBA veteran, former Sixth Man of the Year, NBA champion) can single-handily disrupt a team but what stands out for me is how Cuban handled it.
Let’s face it, NBA players (at least good ones like Odom was prior to his Dallas days) usually get the benefit of the doubt and usually a coach or GM will get the axe before the disruptive player. Take Andrew Bynum, how much longer can LA take his antics before something is done? If he continues to be a disruption, will the Lakers’ brass do what Cuban did? Probably not, since Bynum and Odom’s situation are totally different (lack of commitment vs. maturity and Buss saying Bynum is untouchable), but when is enough, enough?
Again I was simply using Bynum just as an example, heck it could have been DeMarcus Cousins’ behavior last season but my point is Cuban had to do something. This is a Mavs team trying its best to repeat as champs and Odom on the squad was not going to help in that pursuit. He didn’t coddle him anymore, was direct and to the point with Odom and cut ties with his former player.
What more will come out of the Odom-Mavs fallout remains to be seen but if anything, this puts other teams, not based in LA, who might be looking at Odom as an addition to the roster on notice. Tread cautiously, Odom comes with heavy baggage, as Cuban can attest.
