Lamar Odom Could Be Traded (For Real This Time)
Photo. TadderFor the last two years or so, every time a potential Lakers blockbuster trade rumor is thrown out there, Lamar Odom is almost certainly involved. In the past, it’s been because of his talents - 6-10 athletes who can run, jump, pass and score are few and far between. But now, there rumors are starting out of necessity.
After what the world saw in the Finals, the Lakers probably need to move him for other pieces (less expensive athletes, preferably ones who can shoot from distance). His inconsistent play, poor shooting and weak rebounding undoubtedly have him on the block, especially assuming that Andrew Bynum comes back full strength.
From the L.A. Times today:
The issue now is making the pieces fit with one problem position, small forward . . . where Odom would have to go with Bynum at center and Gasol at power forward.
Jackson wants a shooter there badly enough to start his favorite Martian, Vladimir Radmanovic.
The weakest part of Odom’s game is shooting, a problem that came home to roost with Garnett backing off him.
Then there’s Odom’s $14-million salary, as the Lakers assume as much as $90 million in additional salary and luxury tax over the next three seasons with Gasol.
However, from the day they made the trade, the Lakers never thought they would end up paying that much, suggesting they were already thinking of moving Odom.
Indeed, Odom was in their package for Gasol until Memphis owner Michael Heisley took him out, asking for lesser players who afforded more cap relief. Odom then surprised everyone, meshing smoothly with Gasol to give the Lakers twin towers who were wizards with the ball and, according to San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich, the NBA’s best passing team.
If the Lakers had gone on to win a title, with all the good feeling that went with it, they might have given Odom the extension that he’s now seeking.
Since they didn’t win a title, with the Finals highlighting Odom’s limitations in what could be seen as a preview of next season, they’ll surely shop him this off-season.
The dollars just don’t make sense for L.A. to bring back the Lamar Odom we’ve seen over the past few weeks. Unless the Lakers think it was a total aberration, they will seek out potential deals with anyone who will listen.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
stanaeciouz says:
numero uno!trade to atlanta for josh smith and bibby!
June 19th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Jay says:
^^ Yup… the Hawks would totally jump on that trade…………………………………………
June 19th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Tbeezy says:
Yea, because Josh Smith is the great shooter they want at the 3 spot.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Damon says:
lol, right.
but looking at those great bulls teams, they didn’t have a great shooter in the starting 5 either. but i would much rather have josh smith.
he always seems so cool and unimpressed by the stage.
something the lakers need. and his decfense would be great for them, they would have unbelievable shotblocking on their team.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
BALLZ says:
Sorry Damon, but have you ever heard of John Paxson and B.J. Armstrong or are you only referring to the 96-98 teams?
June 19th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Jonny Drama says:
The Hawks finally make the playoffs with their young core, I don’t think they are giving up Josh Smith, at least not for Odom.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
kb24! says:
And Steve Kerr!
June 19th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Blue says:
i don’t think there are many teams who’d be willing to take charmin soft odom and his hefty contract. but then again, that’s what i thought about kwame brown too!
June 19th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
rob stewart says:
Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc, Craig Hodges (3point champ), John Paxson, and my all time favorite BJ Armstrong.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Damon says:
to the 96-98 teams. steve kerr was obviuosly not starting. i know bj and paxson started before mjs first retirement.
i was talking about the fact that the lakers don’t need a great shooter at sf. they have a good one in fisher at pg.
similar to those bulls teams.
hope thats plausible.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
fiyaman says:
maybe it was sarcasm but y in the world would ATL trade JSmith for Odom? there a only a few maybe 10 players that I would trade Smith for and Odom is not 1 or 10..
June 19th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
fiyaman says:
he’s good for fantasy ball though
June 19th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Rafa23 says:
steve kerr, toni kukoc, craig hodges…great
we are talking bout starting 5
June 19th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
ERIC says:
Odom for Artest.. to sweeten the deal for the Kings, the Lakers can take on Kenny Thomas’ atrocious contract.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Yoooo says:
Trade Odom to Golden State for Stephen Jackson. Matter of fact send Odom and Radmonovich for Cap Jack and Bellinelli! Bellinelli is gonna be a problem some day in the L. But even if he never pans out Jackson is a bonafied shooter who defends and does whatever his team needs. He brings passion and heart along with his championship experience (like Posey). Odom fits well with Golden State and so does Radmonovich. Give em a 2nd round pick too if they need it.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Coach T-sun says:
a nice trade would be Mcdyess and Prince for odom and radmonvic. Det is looking to blow things up and odom could team with rasheed as the new versatile frontline and they both have expiring deals so they could be moved in the mid-season. LA gets a veteran backup to help their bench at the big stage, and a Defensive minded small-forward to balance out the team.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Diego says:
Josh Smith is young and has huge upside, but I think LA would be much better off in the next few years with Artest, who could use some redemption from the Ben Wallace fiasco in Detroit (I still blame big Ben for that).
J. Smoove may almost lead the league in blocks and is the best dunker in the league (at least one ridiculous highlight a game), but I think he also leads the league in absent-mindedly throwing passes into the second row of the stands. He still has a lot of kinks in his armor that were not all that on display against the Celts.
I like the idea of trading with Golden State. Stephen Jackson is a winner who shines under pressure (remember his San. Ant. days?). Dump Rad. and the guy with the gay hair holder. Maybe also pick up that French swingman from G.S.–Petres?
June 19th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
rob stewart says:
I know you guys were talking about the starting five. I just chose to ignore it because I wanted to mention those players from the past. They bring back great memmories. Sorry.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
yallallreadyknow says:
la would be fools to trade lamar o-damn!
odom is still better than 80% of the nba.
i cannot defend his play in the finals; he just sucked.
but if la loses him, they aint gonna get past the 2nd round next year.
teams think too much about how/why they lose.
but they forget about how/why they win…
…lamar is a big reason they won the west
June 19th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
allrebo says:
really? but he is one of the best popular stars on tall dating site —Tallmingle.com —,many models like chat with him online.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
daquest?on says:
i think the lakers should stick with Lamar for one more year imagine the starting line up fisher 6 4 kobe 6 6 lamar odom 6 10 pau gasol 7 0 andrew bynum 7 1 are u kidding me?!?!?!?!??! easily the tallest starting lineup in the league and they are versatile they should atleast give it a try
June 19th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Dagomar says:
Odom is fool’s gold.
The guy is more talented than all but maybe 10 NBA players. But he’s inconsistent during the regular season, and wilts during the playoffs. The guy is going to get you a good record before ensuring you lose to an underdog. Ultimately you get players to win championships.
The question is: what can the Lakers get for him? And another question: can they afford to pass on possibly having the league’s biggest, best-passing front court next season?
June 20th, 2008 at 12:55 am
LSM says:
“His inconsistent play, poor shooting and weak rebounding”
I thought he rebounded ok in the playoffs, and he should take the midrange shot more often
June 20th, 2008 at 7:44 am
AllPhillyFan says:
Trade L Odom to the sixers…they have the cap room and some “quality” players to get rid of…Odom would mesh well in Philly with Iggy and the lakers would get some cap relief and some guys who can shoot
June 20th, 2008 at 8:05 am
djKianoosh says:
nah man, i dont want odom. he’s an offensive foul waiting to happen. at least once a half!
let’s just keep building through the draft and try to land a stud PF/C (somehow, somewhere). wing/tweeners like Odom just don’t cut it for me. You need somebody to go up against Garnett, Duncan, Gasol/Bynum, Rasheed, Howard, etc.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Tee says:
I think they should give up LO for Tay straight up. Even part with their second round pick. Phil wont play a seond rounder for the first two years anyway. The pistons would probably go for it. They usually draft well, minus Darko.
Or go for Gerald Wallace, RJ or Josh Howard.
You know the Nets and Cuban are looking to blow it all up. And you never know what MJ is going to do in the front office. Mitch can probably go Logo on him and swindle Wallace away.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Imerial-Mel says:
RJ isnt going anywhere, he is the Nets staple player now, other than Kidd. He’s part of their trio!
Why is every team now going to a big three style lineup, KG, Px2, and Jesus for the C’s, Duncan, Manu, and Parker for the Spurs, Kobe, Pau, and Fisher,Amare, Nash, and Shaq. I think you have to have three to compete now days
June 20th, 2008 at 10:39 am
rell says:
I would go with Jack or Artest. Jack would give them the 3point shot, defense, and especially the heart. If I GS I would not trade Jack for Odom though. RJ would also be a good choice but he is not a 3 point threat.
The perfect choice would be Caron. I still can’t believe they traded Caron for Kwame Brown. Kwame Brown. The sad part was that Caron was putting up numbers in the 2nd half of the season especially after Kobe went down.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Lee says:
Would miami give up Marion for odom ?? How about Odom for Jichard Jefferson ?? Or, unlikely .. Odom for caron butler !!
June 20th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
doc says:
The Sixers better not do that shit.And all these dudes yall saying trade Odom for you really think the other team going for that bullshit.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
eyeused2b says:
Keep Odom and make him the 6th man. It will give the Lakers a really good three man rotation in the post. When Gasol come out, Odom brings experience, chemistry, and familiarity to the position off the bench. When Bynum comes out, Pau slides over to C and Odom plays PF. Maybe they can give up a couple of 2nd round picks or a minor bench player for James Jones.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
BULLZ says:
The Bulls. With Derrick Rose coming, it’s a complete set.
Rose, Hughes, Odom, Noah, and Gooden.
June 21st, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Lee says:
Oh hell yeah … trade Odom for Deng in a shot !!!
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
tony says:
i say trade odem and radmonovich for AK47 and milsap. or….this is a crazy one….Kobe, the machine, and Odem for Deron Williams, AK47, korver, and morris almond.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Kb24 says:
Are you dumb trade Kobe to become the Jazz that LA beat in the 2 round. Figure it out.
June 29th, 2008 at 3:02 am
pissesmeoff says:
I definitely think that odom is a good versatille player but of what he has shown in the finals, I too think that he should be traded but its just the first time the lakers advanced to the finals scince 2004. if they gave odom another chance maybe next year would be a story and andrew bynum will be back…but there would be just too much height