NBA Rumors: Lamar Odom and Golden State Warriors a Perfect Match

Lamar Odom could be playing ball in California again in the future.

In the Bay Area. Not Southern California.

Earlier this week, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that Odom and the Dallas Mavericks had mutually agreed to part ways. Odom hasn't been released, but he won't be suiting up for the Mavs again this season.

On Friday, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Odom and the Golden State Warriors are a potential match:

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There's way more to the story of Lamar Odom's untimely exile from the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday than will probably ever be told.

There's also way more than has been reported about the link between Odom and Golden State, and those details have many thinking the disgruntled forward is much more than "on the radar" or a "long shot" for the 2012-13 Warriors.

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It's hazy who the "many" in the "many think" part of this report (if you can call it that) are. But since those "many" are connected to the details that aren't getting a lot of play in the national media, it's safe to assume that there is actually something going on behind the scenes somewhere in Oakland.

Or, in other words, this is not mere speculation on Simmons' part.

Simmons writes that Odom ending up with the Warriors is a "real possibility," in part because of Odom's relationship with Warriors assistant coach Jerry DeGregorio. The two of them have a longstanding relationship that is both professional and personal.

Most notably, DeGregorio was Odom's best man when he wed Khloe Kardashian in 2009. You may have heard that they're married.

This relationship is not to be underestimated as it pertains to the Warriors luring Odom to Oakland. After all he's been through this season, you have to think Odom would like nothing more than to play under an old friend. He's going to look for a place he can be comfortable (i.e., not Dallas).

One thing that's for sure is that the Warriors should definitely be interested in Odom. He was not himself this season, but nobody should take that as an excuse to think that Odom is washed up and a few steps away from retirement. Despite his struggles, he's still the most versatile big man in the NBA, as he can play around the basket, shoot, handle point-forward duties and defend several different positions.

The Warriors need a player like that just as much as any other team. They're going to have Andrew Bogut at the five and David Lee at the four next season, so they could use Odom in much the same way the Los Angeles Lakers used him. He came off the bench when Andrew Bynum and/or Pau Gasol needed a breather, and the Lakers didn't miss a step when he came in. Hence the reason he won the Sixth Man of the Year award last season.

Acquiring Odom will be complicated. Simmons notes that the Warriors don't have the cap space to sign him outright, so they'd have to make a trade for him or hope that Odom would accept mid-level exception money after being bought out by Dallas.

The latter is a legit possibility given Odom's need for a comfortable atmosphere and his relationship with DeGregorio. If the Warriors need to make a deal with the Mavericks, Simmons speculates that Richard Jefferson or Dorell Wright would have to go the other way.

If I'm the Warriors, I do a deal like that in a heartbeat.

Acquiring Odom is risky in the sense that the Warriors would be hoping for a big-time bounce-back season. The reality is that it's not like Odom is going to be any worse than he was this season, and he presumably won't go through an offseason that was as tumultuous as this past offseason. It was a rough one for Odom, both personally and professionally.

Similarly, acquiring Odom will not make the Warriors any worse. All the organization is doing at this point is throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks. The Monta Ellis trade is a perfect example, though we won't know if that trade will stick or not until next season.

If all the pieces come together, the Warriors will surprise people. If the pieces don't stick, the Warriors will be stuck in the same rut they've been stuck in for years.

This is an organization that is in a perfect position to take risks.