NBA Trade Rumor Retrospective: Lamar Odom for Andre Iguodala

Last season, the Lakers ended the regular season on a relatively low note, going 5-5 in their last 10 games before the postseason. In the first round they were nearly eliminated by the New Orleans Hornets and Chris Paul, but do to some late-series heroics by Kobe Bryant, they got past the Hornets and a ticket to the next round.

But in the second round, the Lakers unraveled and were swept by the soon-to-be-champion Dallas Mavericks.

Ever since the end of that disappointing season, the Lakers have undeniably had players on the trading block, and the player talked about the most is Lamar Odom.

He has been the centerpiece of proposed trades that would have given the Lakers Kevin Love, the second-overall pick in the draft, and the focus of this article, Andre Iguodala.

Let's take a look.

Iguodala has been considered a star for quite some time now in Philadelphia. He is an athletic slasher that can occasionally pull up from deep. He is a skilled and willing defender and can guard nearly any perimeter player in the game.

Odom is a very different player. He is known as a versatile "point-forward" that has all the skills necessary to play every position on the court (although he is most effective when playing small/power forward). He can shoot, drive and has very good handles for a guy that's 6'8".

On defense he is just as versatile, but not as good a perimeter defender as Andre Iguodala.

If Iguodala went to L.A. for Lamar Odom, Derrick Caracter (the second-year player out of Louisville) would become the third wheel of the Lakers big man rotation that includes Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol (which wouldn't be an upgrade over Odom).

But what would be an upgrade is "Iggy" over Ron Artest. Ron Artest is a solid defender, but he is no longer the DPY he was in 2004.

Iguodala is still young and can now defend better than the aging Artest. On offense, Artest struggled last year. He repeatedly put up contested threes that usually ended in countless bricks.

Iguodala is much more developed on the offensive end, being able to consistently get to the cup. He can pull up from mid-range and occasionally from deep.

Odom in Philly would essentially mean starting at small forward and becoming the leader of the young Sixers squad. Due to a failed experiment with the Clippers, I doubt he can be the leader or centerpiece of the team. He wouldn't be an upgrade over Iguodala.

So, case and point, the trade makes sense for the Lakers, but definitely not for Philly.