NBA Rumors: Trading Lamar Odom Would Help Mavericks Move Past Disappointing Year

When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Lamar Odom last offseason, they weren't expecting the versatile forward to have the worst season of his career. Odom's lack of production was a major reason Dallas' title defense ended with a whimper, so trading him remains the team's best option.

Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com reports the Mavericks will attempt to do exactly that before June 29, at which point the team would either have to buy him out or pay his $8.2 million contract for next season. Neither of those options are nearly as appealing as a trade.

Of course, everything will be determined by Odom's trade value, if he has any left after a wacky season. His problems seemed like they were mental rather than physical. Somebody who averaged 14 points and nine rebounds as one of the best bench players in the league doesn't suddenly forget how to play.

Instead, it appeared that Odom was never able to accept his trade to Dallas and move on. Every time he stepped on the court, it was almost as if he was playing the game two seconds behind everybody else, leading to a myriad of mental errors.

Getting out of Dallas gives Odom the best chance to get his career back on track. He's still only 32 years old, so he should have a handful of seasons left where he can be a useful contributor—as long as he puts this season's woes behind him.

The Mavericks have to hope another team is willing to take a chance on him, since the trade price would be deeply discounted. For Dallas, it's more about removing a headache from the roster, so the Mavs can open up some cap space and move on from a forgettable season.

Dallas has an aging roster, but the in-state rival San Antonio Spurs have proven that if you have enough depth, it doesn't matter how old your stars are. Moving Odom would give the Mavericks more flexibility to add a couple more pieces to the mix.

More importantly, the Mavericks have to start thinking about the future, and it's one that doesn't include Odom. Acquiring him was worth the risk because they needed another big man to replace Tyson Chandler, but it didn't work out, plain and simple.

The Mavericks should do whatever they can to get something—really, anything—for him. They can just write it off as a failed experiment without having to worry about him anymore.

It would be a key first step in putting this season behind them as they look forward to next fall.