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Lamar Odom to Mavericks: Dallas Robs Los Angeles Lakers Blind in Trade
December 12, 2011
Kobe Bryant may not be happy, but Mark Cuban and the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks are ecstatic.
That's not only because they acquired Lamar Odom, but because they robbed the Lakers blind in the process.
The Lakers tried to include Odom in the initial Chris Paul trade that was vetoed by the league, but successfully dealt him along with a 2012 second round pick to the Mavericks for their $8.9 million trade exception, as well as a protected first-round pick.
If your scoring this one at home, it's a big win for Dallas.
Lakers fans can't be happy. After watching all attempts to acquire Paul fail, they then deal a guy who's given them seven solid seasons for next to nothing. Not only that, they deal him to the team that they now have to knock off the top of the mountain.
The team made Odom upset when attempting to deal him in the first place and instead of trying to mend the bridge between the two parties, they instead gave him away.
The trade isn't all that bad for Los Angeles, who may be looking to rebuild for a season. By dealing Odom, they save close to $18 million in salary and luxury tax penalties.
They gave away a guy coming off a very good season in which he averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and shot a career best 53 percent from the field in winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
For the Lakers, after failing to land Paul and giving away Odom, they are going to have to turn all their attentions to acquiring Dwight Howard. Unfortunately for them, the Magic won't give him away the same way they gave away Odom.