NBA Trade Speculation: Could the Dallas Mavericks Look to Trade Lamar Odom?

One player that has not been able to get on track this season has been versatile forward Lamar Odom of the Dallas Mavericks.

The Dallas Mavericks acquired Odom in hopes of having him become a vital piece of their team playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki as the Mavericks look to defend their championship. This is not new for Odom as he excelled in this role when with the Los Angeles Lakers helping win two NBA championships. However, things have been different than expected.

What is going on with Odom this season? Are the struggles there due to of off-the-court issues preventing him from performing on the basketball court this season? It appears to get more mysterious than anything as time goes on. Odom has been averaging 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds while appearing in only 32 games this season for Dallas.

However, Odom has continued to struggle and there was a report out saying that Odom (who is currently not with the team to deal with personal issues) is hoping for a buyout.

The Mavericks should not look to buyout Odom as they need him to contribute this season. Head coach Rick Carlisle said that Odom is expected to return after missing two games, and hopefully he can look to pick up his play.

If things do not get better with Odom and he is truly unhappy about being in Dallas, then looking into potential trades could be next best approach to take.

However, Mark Cuban is wary of buying out Odom knowing that contenders will snatch him up and he could come back to haunt Dallas once again as a foe possibly in the postseason. Since the chances of something like this happening are possible, the Mavericks could look to ride out the remainder of the season with Odom on their roster and look to move him in the offseason depending on how free agency goes.

Hopefully, Odom will be able to get back on track and the Mavericks can move on.