Lamar Odom Done In Dallas

Lamar Odom is getting the Keyshawn Johnson treatment. He’s being paid to stay away from the team.

According to reports the Mavs and Odom have reached a mutual agreement to part ways for the remainder of the season. Lamar won’t be released instead he’ll simply be inactive but won’t be a part of the team in any way.

For those hoping to see LO return to L.A. that won’t be happening this season. Not only is Odom still a silent member of the Mavs but even if he were released he wouldn’t be eligible to be active on a playoff roster.

It is hard to understand just how things got so bad so fast for Lamar. Coming off of the best season of his career it was surely a shock to learn the Lakers were looking to unload his salary. But dude did land on his feet. He avoided being shipped to the hoops purgatory that is New Orleans instead landing a gig playing with the defending NBA champs. However a rushed preseason combined with a tumultuous offseason for Odom meant he was always going to be playing from behind.

Odom endured a couple of personal tragedies during the lockout spending little to no time preparing for the season. There are those that also feel Lamar’s status as a reality TV personality affected how he approached the game as well. Hard to see that considering he was named the NBA’s sixth man of the year while the cameras were rolling. But you never know what really goes on.

During his time in Dallas Odom was nowhere near his normal self. His numbers were hovering in the Metta World Peace area. His playing time was dwindling and Lamar never seemed comfortable as a Maverick.

Will there be a possible Laker reunion in the cards? That will depend on a lot of factors. Naturally he’ll have to be willing to take a pay cut should the Mavs buyout his contract. If that doesn’t happen then you can forget about Jerry Buss taking on an $8-million salary for a reserve. There is also no telling if Odom is still sore over the nature in which he left Los Angeles in the first place.

Known as one of the best locker room guys in the game you’d have to imagine things had gone horribly wrong between Odom and the Mavs to reach this point. I truly hope Lamar can refocus and get back to business next season.