Lamar Odom and Other Road Trip-Worthy Los Angeles Lakers Players, Coaches

The Los Angeles Lakers are situated in the perfect place for fantastic fun.  The Lakers are situated near Hollywood where they have what other NBA franchises don't have: a zoo of effervescent activity in their backyard. 

Lakers players have close proximity to the movie and TV stars.  Also, the Lakers aren't far from great surfing spots on the Pacific Ocean.  They're in striking distance of some of the swankiest neighborhoods in the country.

Add in the freewheeling organizational culture of the Lakers and the recipe cooks up a breeding ground for fun people.

Now, what if a person had the opportunity to bottle up all of this fun and take it on the road?

Let's say a person has a seven-seat van and must plan a road trip accompanied by members of the Los Angeles Lakers, past and present.  That person would have many worthy candidates to choose from.

Following is a list of the most road trip-worthy members of the Lakers.

Notable Omissions

Some players and coaches simply aren't fit for the road trip.  This is a result of either personality or criminal activity.

Below are some who missed the cut:

Kobe Bryant

Bryant is not the type of person with whom most people would want to spend a week or more on the road.  Bryant has the persona of one who tries to chose every destination on his own.  The decisions must be made as a group.  No one has any more say than anyone else.  Also, the sexual assault allegations and the recent battery charges are huge detractors.

Pat Riley

Riley, the coach of the Lakers' championship teams in the 1980s, does not have the character for a long road trip.  Riley is all about power.  On his organizations he runs, Riley demands complete control of personnel decisions.  Several years ago, he fired a decent coach in Stan Van Gundy so that he could put his precise imprint on the game.  The power persona doesn't belong on a road trip.  Also, his slicked-back hair is way past its time.  Besides, the road trip roster must be protected against inordinate supplies of hair gel.

Javaris Crittenton

Murder suspects need not apply.  Whatever road trip credentials Crittenton might have had ended when he was accused of killing a mother of four children in Atlanta.

Kwame Brown

Brown has neither the personality nor the presentable record for a road trip.  First, he reportedly stole a birthday cake from a man on Jan. 17, 2007.  After stealing the cake, Brown threw the cake at the birthday boy. Theft is an unsavory activity that makes a person an unreliable road trip partner.  Particularly, stealing someone's birthday cake is downright mean.  While he was not prosecuted for the incident, the action is inexcusable. 

Also, Brown is a loner.  He didn't acclimate well to the NBA in his rookie year.  Since then, Brown hasn't made great social connections.  People who are loners can sometimes be decent people to be around.  However, they're not the type with which to travel long distance on the road.

Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom lands in the van with special treatment.  Simply being with Khloe Kardashian earns him his points and gives him special credentials.  This means he knows his picks.  He knows his ladies.  If he can handle a Kardashian—including handling a business venture with her, their clothing line—he knows how to handle any woman.  

Odom can captain the clubs.  That's key territory. 

Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson is a key player on any road trip.  Jackson is very focused.  Jackson is collegial.  

He is an important person to have in the driver's seat.  First, he is committed to getting places and getting things done.  Second, Jackson is perceptual, allowing him to avoid being distracted by people talking around him or by the radio, nor will he be bereaved by heavy traffic.

Jackson gets extra points as a driver for being able to drive with no hands while doing a crossword puzzle, as he noted in his book Sacred Hoops.

Next, Jackson is a sensing personality.  Jackson earned credit in his career for being able to handle some of the biggest egos in the NBA.  Jackson could defuse arguments and cool players down.  Having someone on the trip who can cool guys down when they get overheated is invaluable.

Furthermore, Jackson is a cool guy.  In the 1960s, he was part of the counterculture, growing long hair and a beard and using recreational drugs.  Jackson showed players highlights of performances spliced with clips from movies such as Pulp Fiction and Shrek.

Jackson is a perfect fit for the trip, far better than any other coach in Lakers history.

Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal is a no-brainer.  O'Neal is the man of many nicknames, known as the Big Shaqtus, the Big Diesel, the Big Aristotle, etc.

O'Neal is the man.  he was once pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated sitting in a tube in a pool.  He'll say all kinds of things in the media (i.e. telling off Yao Ming to reporters in mock Chinese).  

O'Neal knows how to party and have fun.  He knows all the right things to say.

By the way, O'Neal has a PhD in Leadership and Education.

Imagine how he might use that on a road trip.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain—like O'Neal—is an easy pick.  Chamberlain was a high-roller.  He dressed sharply.  He picked up women.  Chamberlain claimed in his second autobiography, A View from Above, to have slept with 20,000 women.  While it was an exaggeration, it gave a good idea of his game.

Chamberlain was easy going.  When he coached the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA, he had celebrities hanging out at practice.  Also, he was the only coach to wear sandals.

Chamberlain was pure fun.  He is everything that a road trip person should be.

Mark Madsen

Mark Madsen is on the road trip for one reason.  He can dance.

If there's one thing that can add to a bunch of cool guys whose name everyone knows, it's having one unrecognizable guy who can dance.  While O'Neal and Chamberlain can do their work and Jackson can work his Zen Master magic, Madsen can show his dancing skills.

To further emphasize the value of the dancer, comedian Jon Lajoie takes people deeper.

Luke Walton

Luke Walton is a marginal players who just happens to be the son of Bill Walton.  This is where that dubious distinction makes him stand out.

Walton has the connections—or he can at least use his dad's connections to acquire concert tickets for free.  Walton can get with the groupies.  

Also, Walton can make fun of his dad.  Imagine him telling a group of people, "I was in the game and suddenly I hear my dad yelling, 'Throw it down, Kobe!  Throw it down!'"