Lamar Odom and Dallas Mavericks Agree to Part Ways for Remainder of Season
The Lamar Odom experiment was not working out for the Dallas Mavericks, and it finally came to a merciful end on Monday, according to a report by ESPN’s Marc Stein.
Dallas acquired the 32-year-old forward in an offseason trade, giving the Los Angeles Lakers a first-round pick and an $8.9 million trade exception in return for his services.
The 6’10”, 230-pounder felt disrespected by the Lakers when he was originally made part of a trade for Chris Paul that was vetoed by commissioner David Stern. He asked the organization to move him to another contender, and it obliged.
Odom struggled to fit in with Dallas, averaging just 6.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 1.7 APG with paltry shooting percentages of 35.2 from the field and 25.2 from beyond the arc.
Those numbers are all significantly below his career averages, and it was clear from the start that he was struggling to mesh in the defending champion’s system.
Both sides realized this was not an ideal scenario and decided to amicably part ways. Odom had this to say in a statement to ESPN:
"The Mavericks and I have mutually agreed that it's in the best interest of both parties for me to step away from the team. I'm sorry that things didn't work out better for both of us, but I wish the Mavs' organization, my teammates and Dallas fans nothing but continued success in the defense of their championship.
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Odom will not be eligible to sign with another contender, as Stein points out he would have needed to be cut before the March 23 deadline.
Instead of worrying about the postseason grind, the two-time champion is reportedly going to take time to “clear his head and start getting ready for next season.”
There is no doubt that the skilled and versatile forward has a lot left in the tank; he just needs to get some space away from the game to get his personal life figured out. Look for him to be back and ready to contribute again during the 2012-13 season.
