Lakers Rumors: Lamar Odom's Return Would Spell End for Pau Gasol

If Lamar Odom indeed wants to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, there may actually be a way to get the deal done sooner rather than later.

The Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan and Mark Medina suggested that Odom would likely be unable to return to his former team any sooner than this December, well over a month into the season.

However, more recent reports suggest there could be a way to send the disaffected forward back to the club with which he spent seven seasons from 2004 to 2011.

According to DallasBasketball.com's David Lord and Mike Fisher, the Mavericks are pursuing a contractual modification that would make a return to Los Angeles a far more viable option: 

"

A highly-placed league insider tells us the Mavs are already pursuing a revision to Odom's contract that would move his deadline to buy out his last year at $2.4 million from June 29, 2012 to some time in July, a contractual change that is permitted by the league with mutual agreement from both player and team. 

That would make a major difference in Odom's future possibilities, especially as it pertains to the Lakers.

"

By delaying the buyout option beyond June 30, Dallas would then be able to circumvent a league requirement that players not be traded back to the team from which they were acquired during the same season in which the original trade occurred.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have good reason to entertain such a reacquisition.

There's a prevailing sentiment that Los Angeles is willing to part with power forward Pau Gasol in order to acquire a difference-maker who can return the team to Western Conference dominance with which it's accustomed.

Odom wouldn't equate to a perfect replacement for Gasol, but he could certainly be part of the puzzle. If Los Angeles retains free agent Jordan Hill, it would at least have a platoon of serviceable big men to pair alongside center Andrew Bynum.

Sure, Odom had a dismal season with the Mavericks this season, averaging just 6.6 points in 50 games.

But there's also little doubt that his uncharacteristically sub-par performance had as much to do with personal distractions stemming in large part from his departure from Los Angeles and the circumstances surrounding it.

In his last season with the Lakers, Odom had his best all-round performance in years. It's unlikely the wheels have come off entirely, and a change of scenery could yield some desired results.

If he could approximate the effectiveness he formerly demonstrated on his old team, parting with Gasol wouldn't be nearly as painful as it otherwise might be.