Lamar Odom Rumors: Reported Trade to Clippers Will Save Odom's Career
Lamar Odom desperately needs to turn his career around, and luckily for him, the ideal solution has officially presented itself.
According to Eddie Sefko of Dallasnews.com, the Dallas Mavericks are on the verge of trading Odom to the Los Angeles Clippers, provided Mo Williams opts in to the last year of his contract.
"The Mavericks have agreed to send the troubled Odom to the Clippers, who in turn will ship Williams to the Utah Jazz, who will send a trade exception from the Mehmet Okur deal last season to the Mavericks, an NBA source said.
All three teams have agreed to the deal. All that has to happen to make it official is for Williams to exercise the player option on his contract for next season, which would pay him $8.5 million.
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Williams has until Friday to decide whether he will exercise his player option or become an unrestricted free agent, but with $8.5 million sitting on the table, it's safe to assume he won't chance the open market.
Though many were pining for Odom to reunite with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, he is much better off joining the Clippers, as playing for the Staples Center's other inhabitants will undoubtedly save his career.
Not only does Odom now have the chance to play alongside one of the NBA's best floor generals in Chris Paul, but the elephant that followed him from the Lakers to the Mavericks is officially out of the room.
He is no longer being asked to return to a Lakers team who deemed him more valuable to them as a trade chip. And he is no longer expected to fill the shoes of a Tyson Chandler-type player. He's now a valued upgrade.
Despite the presence of the ever-athletic Blake Griffin and the defensive-oriented DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers' frontline is noticeably thin.
Odom not only shores up the two-way competency of said frontline, but also presents the Clippers with another player to back up Paul. And with Chauncey Billups' future still up in the air and Eric Bledsoe's ceiling a mystery, that's absolutely huge.
While Odom had the worst season of his career this past year, his paltry averages of 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game should not be a source of major concern moving forward.
Odom is finally back in an environment he's familiar with, playing for a team that actually wants him.
Basketball is as much a mental game as it is a physical one, and now that Odom is on his way home, his mind will be put at ease.
And soon after, his inherent versatility and past penchant for exceptional displays of effectiveness will follow suit.
