Back for the second time?
According to RadarOnline.com, exiled Dallas Mavericks forward Lamar Odom is in talks with the Clippers about a return to L.A. Here are their details:
“Lamar’s agent is in talks with the Clippers,” a source close to the NBA star told RadarOnline.com. “He and Khloe are thrilled that he’ll be returning to the team and that they will get to stay in LA and be close to their families.”
“Lamar wants to return to Los Angeles and the Clippers want him. They just need to work out finances and contractual issues,” the source says.
A couple quick points to address here… First, the Mavericks have to officially buy out Odom’s the 2012-2013 option of his contract for $2.4 million before June 29th (which they most likely will do, considering the disaster of a season Odom had for Dallas) before Odom can freely sign with any other team except the Lakers (he can’t re-sign with the Lakers until the one year anniversary of his trade date, Dec. 11th).
Secondly, the Clippers already have an aging small forward on their roster in Caron Butler, who they just signed to a 3-year, $24 million contract last off-season, as well as Ryan Gomes under contract next season for $4 mil. Gomes would have to be shipped for any potential signing of Odom to make any sense.
It’s well known that Odom loves L.A. and he and his wife would welcome a return. Odom was originally drafted by the Clippers in 1999 before signing with the Heat as a free agent in 2003, then traded to the Lakers with Caron Butler for Shaquille O’Neal a year later.
For his career, the versatile Odom has averaged 14.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 3.9 apg and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award for the 2010-2011 season, his last with the Lakers before unhappily being dealt to the Mavericks for a trade exception and future first round pick.
-ALR
