NBA Trade Rumors: Lamar Odom Trade Is Bad News for New Jersey Nets

It's official: Lamar Odom is going to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a 2012 first-round draft pick.

Two bad things have occurred from this trade:

1. Khloe will be taking Dallas real soon.

2. The Lakers are dumping salary and gaining draft picks in pursuit of Dwight Howard.

That might not seem like much for a player the likes of Odom, but it's huge for the Los Angeles Lakers. No doubt the Lakers will look to put together a package of top talent and draft picks to try and pry Dwight Howard out of Orlando and away from the New Jersey Nets.

It's not certain what Los Angeles will offer Orlando, but Andrew Bynum and/or Pau Gasol will be on the table; Gasol especially, considering he was almost traded a few days ago only to be stopped by David Stern. I'm sure he's as unhappy as Lamar Odom was.

Still, if the Lakers' package with one of those players and draft picks aren't enough, Los Angeles could throw both players at the Magic, which would trump any package the Nets, or any team for that matter, could match.

Yes, Los Angeles would be clearing their roster with such a trade, but there will be players next offseason to complete their roster. Even with a combination of Howard and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are a playoff team.

Both team's draft picks won't be that good, but the Lakers trade bait has more talent than what the Nets will offer in Brook Lopez. Don't be surprised if a third team is included in the deal either—the Lakers have enough pieces to trade to involve a third team.

It's a scary proposition for the Nets, who a day ago were the favorite to land the NBA's top center. The worst thing that could've happened for New Jersey was the Chris Paul trade getting blocked, because now a desperate Lakers franchise has more pieces to overspend with.

If the Lakers go full force in acquiring Howard, they could end up leaving the Nets with nothing in 2012.