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Is Odom Done in LA? By Christopher Sells
07.14.2009 - Updated on 07.14.2009
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Lamar Odom is the owner of skills uncommon for a player of his size and a personality that his teammates love. He is a newly crowned NBA Champion and was a key component of the L.A. Lakers team that overcame its "soft" label to win the right to be called the best.
So why doesn’t he have a team or a contract at the moment?
Odom is one of the highest profile free agents still on the market. Most of the others have found a team to play for next season, whether it’s under the most ideal circumstances or not. Among those that haven’t (Allen Iverson), there are questions of talent and attitude. Among those that have are players whose talent is unquestioned (Ben Gordon, Ron Artest), but whose ability to win is. Others are unproven (Marcin Gortat), unpredictable (Rasheed Wallace), ill-fitting (Shawn Marion) or indecisive (Hedo Turkoglu). Odom seems to be the safest bet of them all, yet he hasn’t signed on the dotted line.
It appears the issue might be money. Odom admitted recently that talks between he and the Lakers have not been going as well as he hoped. Some of the things he says in that story make it clear that he wants to be a Laker. That’s a smart decision, seeing that he has found his niche with the team and that they can offer him the most money.
Odom might be wise, however, to take whatever the Lakers are offering instead of continuing these negotiations. While he notes that these processes can take a while to work themselves out, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak says that he’s "not as hopeful" that the team can come to an agreement with Odom and that "perhaps" it’s time to move on.
There is rumored interest from teams like Dallas, Miami, San Antonio and Phoenix, but his role on those teams would be unclear and, apart from the Spurs, winning another championship isn’t likely. And there is the pay cut that he’d have to take. Maybe he should ask former teammate Trevor Ariza about how this works with the Lakers. Ariza also wanted more money than he was being offered and was left to watch as someone better than him (the aforementioned Artest) was brought in as his replacement.
Odom may not have to worry about being replaced with someone better, but he certainly seems to be close to being shown the door. And it would be a shame if he were left outside when teams started to contend for a title.
What should Odom do? Leave your suggestions in the comments section below.
[image: www.flickr.com/photos/ericrichardson]
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Posted by
on 07.22.2009 | Odom has been a free agent for quite some time now and have not taken an offer from any other team, which is a good indication he will resign with the Lakers. Odom knows with the addition of Artest, this Laker team have the makings of a dynasty. I don’t believe that the Lakers had any intentions of resigning Ariza after knowing they had Artest in their back pocket. However, odom presents a different challenge to replace because of his versitility and if played in the same role as last season he can continue to do what he does without any significant pressure to compete with Kobe. Having Odom gives the Lakers a number of keys to their teams success along with Gasol, Bynum, and Artest. I don’t see Odom playing for any other team but the Lakers, not only can the Lakers have the most money to offer but Odom has been in this system for about five years now and he’s comfortable in LA. . | Posted by
ELiTEwon
on 07.17.2009 | The money they are offering him is not the problem, reportedly they offered 9 mill @ 3 years which is 27 mill ... and 8 mill @ 4 years which is 32 mill .. odom wants a 5 year contract @ 10 mill .. im sure if the lakers offer him 8 mill 5 years he will take it but they don’t want to commit for 9 years .. I also read that the lakers offered 10 mill 3 years then when they heard no noise quickly took it off the table and brought back 9 mill 3 yrs... MONEY is not the issue here the years is ... because Odoms market will be in a decline 2 or 3 years from now he wants to pry as much as he can which is why i think he is going to be back with the lakers regardless because we are offering the most money period. . | Posted by
on 07.16.2009 | he deserves to be paid what is due him..... . | Posted by
ronh
on 07.15.2009 | This will show whether odom cares about winning or momey he should take less monrey if he wants to win 8 or 9 million if he can’t live off that something’s wrong . | Posted by
allnet38
on 07.15.2009 | guys, odom has the ability to be one of the best point forwards but the problem is, he does not show it consistantly! 10 million a year? that’s a lot of money for a suprise package like lamar. on the other hand: if one looks at boozer’s or r. lewis’ salary they could argue that odom IS worth at least 10 million per year... lamar, just take 27 for 3 years and help gold and purple to win some more titles  . | Posted by
Mark
on 07.14.2009 | I am a Laker fan but totally on Odom’s side. In the end the Lakers have to ask themselves whether the extra $2M ($1M in salary above the $9M they offered plus $1M in tax) is worth a championship. Remember this team’s biggest knock is toughness. And their toughest player in the post is Odom. Simply put there is 0, zip, zilch chance this team repeats without him. They would have been better off not signing Artest and letting Ariza go to re-sign Odom. Those guys are very valuable add ons but Odom is the key to making this a championship caliber team. The Lakers apparently don’t see that bc they paid Artest and Shannon Freakin Brown but are not paying the guy that is the key to the whole puzzle. . | Posted by
alexb
on 07.14.2009 | Lamar odom to the phoenix suns!! If he comes to phoenix it will turn into a championship . | Posted by
mel counts
on 07.14.2009 | Lamar get your best deal,but if the lakers cut bait with you and you end up playing for much less elsewhere and never compete for a championship again you will only have yourself to blame. . | Posted by
what’s wrong with you??
on 07.14.2009 | 3 years and 9 mil per year? deeaaammm he should take it no doubt. I thought they’ll give him some under stinky MLE. All this time I thougt that he was a victim here but it turns out that mothafucka is greedy as hell. Take the 3 year contract, have next ring and after 3 get a veteran’s minimum and get over it. . | Posted by
Snika
on 07.14.2009 | Odom feels owed, he was the mismatch that was vital for winning a ring. If he played well, they won! If not, they were 50/50. While I don’t feel that he is a 10 mil/5 years player, he obviously does... and I bet he could get it. You can’t blame him for wanting more money and a starting role. . | Posted by
eric
on 07.14.2009 | odom got a 3 yrs 27 mill offer yesterday and he said no, he wants 5 years.9 mill a year is more than gracious from the lakers considering he will be in l.a big market and in a championship team. odom needs to learn from arizas mistake.u pa-------up 9 mill a year to play for the lakers under this bad economy and u tell urself: dam!!!!! . | Posted by
matrixphil
on 07.14.2009 | I think people should stop equating the amount to give Lamar Odom with the luxuty tax; while it is true that any amount he signs will double for the lakers because of luxary tax; it is not because of his sole salary, it is because of the team’s collective salary beyond the salary cap. So it can be portions of Kobe’s salary or Sasha’s salary. It doen’t look right if a team or anyone would value any player just because of the salary cap; . | Posted by
sohel
on 07.14.2009 | Odom should stay.This is the only team he will get atleast 2 or 3 rings. . | Posted by
Dakota
on 07.14.2009 | Doug....Wallace already signed with the CELTICS! We need Lamar! He is not worth $10 million a year (which is really $20 million a year to Jerry Buss with the tax factored in) but winning championships is worth that amount of money....so re-sign him already! . | Posted by
Doug
on 07.14.2009 | Lakers should just replace him by Rasheed Wallace for less money. They should just start Bynum at center, Gasol at PF, and Wallace coming off the bench for C or PF. THey got Artest now, so relax people. Why pay a ton of money for a 6th man. . | Posted by
ricardo vazquez
on 07.14.2009 | odom should just settle for 8 million per fo 4 years and a chance to win multiple titles . | Posted by
tim
on 07.14.2009 | Odom should leave the lakers and go play for the spurs , then come back and beat the lakers with his new team in the western finals in 2010.That would teach those lakers a lesson . |
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