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Maybe Odom will get mad enough at the Lakers prioritizing Artest over him to take the MLE from San Antonio. Ok, maybe not.
But it's not like we haven't acquired a former Lakers forward before.
They where one of our bogey teams, much like OKC.
Maybe Odom will get mad enough at the Lakers prioritizing Artest over him to take the MLE from San Antonio. Ok, maybe not.
But it's not like we haven't acquired a former Lakers forward before.
Odom for the MLE is unimaginable to me. But I would bricks if it happened.
Odom should go back to the clips to exact revenge on the Lakers, if motivated he can still be a much better player then he has ever been, him and a healthy Davis and that Griffin kid could make a push for best team in LA.
Yes, sorry for my bad english/american...good to improve your language via forum!You mean strength and speed?
Just don't take lessons from KBP.
Odom can sign a one year deal and reevaluate his worth in 2010, no? If so, I highly doubt he's going anywhere unless Portland scoops him up.
Yes he can, and the Lakers reportedly offered him a $7.5M one year deal as a compromise to his $10M long-term request. He's not going anywhere for the MLE, even on a one year deal. I'm with you in that this is basically a 2 horse race (Lakers, Portland).
Agreed. I predict he will accept such an offer from the Lakers if Portland can't give him the $/yrs he could acquire from a Bosh/LeBron/etc Sweepstakes-loser in 2010. Additionally, LA has multiple expirings next season. If both he and the Lakers FO are truly keen on Laker for Life status, it requires only a marginal paycut this season.
Odom when he's on his game is scary anywhere he is, but he's not there very often.
Agreed! Odom signs with the Blazers 4 years, 43m!
Then Phil Jackson quits because he cannot be expected to coach a team where he does not have a MONSTER mismatch at EVERY position, INCLUDING THE BENCH.
Odom is going to LA, it's pretty much a 100%..he's pretty much going to use Portland for more money, it's pretty obvious..
Yeah, you're right: but if he did leave, Laker fans around the world would have to be rushed to to the Hospital for hyper-ventilation.
Those poor people!
The lux tax threshold coming a little bit lower makes it all the rougher on the Lakers.
Is Buss willing to spend $105-108M on this team?
With salary cap one million less than last year, the Blazers need to clear more room if they really want to pursue Odom. I am wondering if they are willing to trade Batum for M.Williams + Pick.
The Lakers won't win the le without Odom.
Being that it's only for 1 year, as the Lakers have salary coming off the books next summer, unfortunately I think so.
But, I hope Buss doesn't!
Invite him and have Willy Wonka greet him at the airport, offer the MLE with a complete house full of candy and a life supply of honey buns and life savers and the Spurs will get him signed. jk.
WELCOME TO CANDYLAND,
CANDY MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just heard on espn first take that the spurs is a darkhorse team that is interested in Odom if they can clear up some cap space. I think getting Odom is a great idea for the spurs because it kills two bird with one stone, first it would solve the lack of big men situation and it would also weaken the mighty Lakers.
That was Chris Mannix on ESPN's "First Take" (aka "The Skip Bayless Show"). Apparently, Chris is a Sports Illustrated writer for what it's worth.
Odom would be the perfect case scenario...
I don't think people in the media understand that we CAN'T get Odom..it won't work..why would the front office risk making space for him?..there isn't a good chance of him coming here to risk moving players for financial space to sign Odom..
Of course we are "interested" in Odom, he's a good player..everybody is interested in him..
It's LA or a little chance of Portland..the media is just trying to generate hype from nothing..
Mannix's source, his dog.
On a brighter note, given the 2010-2011 salary cap projections, signing Artest, Brown and Odom will cost Buss about $45-50 million just in luxury tax in 2010-2011.
Buss might just forgoe Odom and tell Kobe, "Sorry you're going to have to somewhat prove you can carry a team like the real superstars do."
It has already been stated that after taking on RJ's contract, it is impossible to "clear enough room" to offer Odom more than the MLE without basically giving away Manu and then some. If Odom is coming to San Antonio it would have to be for a sign and trade (which has a 0% chance of happening) or him accepting the MLE (which has a 0.0000000001% chance of happening).
The State of Lamar Odom
July 14, 2009 10:58 AM
After winning the le and heading into the off-season on a high, the Lakers had some free agents to worry about, most notably Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom.
The negotiations with Ariza stalled a bit and boom ... the Lakers went in another direction, bringing in Ron Artest instead.
Odom -- a favorite Laker, with abundant skill and size -- has now reached the point where his own contract negotiations have reached a sticking point.
A bit of a nervous time for Laker fans and Odom alike.
The L.A. Times' Broderick Turner reports:
Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who improved on his offer of $8 million a season to Odom, is getting frustrated and is thinking about pulling the deal off the table soon.
Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak talked at halftime of a game between the Lakers and Clippers on Monday in Las Vegas at the summer league, saying that the talks with Odom left him "not as hopeful as I was on Friday."
When asked why, Kupchak said, "Just a feeling you get."
"Right now, I'm not sure we're on the same page."
Kupchak added that it might be nearing time to give up on the talks, and Odom was coy about whether or not he had an offer from the Miami Heat. (Odom played well for the Heat in the 2003-2004 season, before being shipped to Los Angeles as part of the Shaquille O'Neal trade.)
Lamar Odom has been keeping nice company as a Laker. But with contract talks stalled, his return to the champions is uncertain.
(Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)
Andrew Kamenetzky of the L.A. Times caught up with Odom, who tried to be somewhat sunny in the videotaped interview, but came off decidedly neutral when asked about the state of negotiations. "It is what it is," he said.
Odom also pointed out that even if you have a great relationship, things can get uncomfortable with anyone when the topic is money. "You can have a brother, a sister, a father, but when you start talking about money, it gets a little ... ehhhh ..."
Odom acknowledges he's in the middle of a balancing act. There's an argument for trying to get the most money possible. "You take a business man, anyone with a business mind, and they want the most money possible," he says. He points out that he's 29, and needs to secure his "legacy as a basketball player, and a business man."
But at the same time, Odom is clear that having a great chance to win a le means a lot, and he articulates a sophisticated bargaining position: "We try to do what's best for both sides, like what's fair. It doesn't happen overnight."
A Fair Price for Lamar Odom
It's very hard to say what any player is worth in this economy. So far there has been no suggestion that the teams with cap space -- Oklahoma City and Portland -- are in pursuit, so on the open market his suitors are the Lakers, who have Odom's "Bird rights" and can pay him any price, or some team's mid-level exception, which starts at a little under $6 million a year.
Reportedly Odom is hoping to get $10 million a season.
There are two players who are worth comparing Odom to.
The first, and most obvious, is Odom himself. Over the last five years he has earned something in the neighborhood of $55 million. Although he's seen as an inconsistent producer from game to game, Odom has been remarkably consistent from season to season. Over the last half-decade:
Odom's PER has moved in a small window from 16.1 to 17.3. Last season it was 16.6.
His true shooting percentage has been between 52 and 58% each of those years.
His total rebounding percentage started the period at 15.9, and after a couple of off-years has been at 15.6 and 15.5 over the last two seasons.
In the 2009 playoffs, Odom was even better. According to Basketball-Reference, he had a PER of 18, a true shooting percentage of 59%, and a total rebounding percentage 16.7%.
Another comparision for Odom, from this summer's free agent market, is Hedo Turkoglu, who was also asking for $10 million a season, and reportedly received slightly more. They're very different small forwards -- Odom moonlights as a power forward, while Turkoglu plays stretches as a point guard -- but similar in that they're borderline stars for a Finals team.
By every measure, except those concerning passing, Odom's numbers look good compared to Turkoglu's. In this year's post-season, for instance, Turkoglu had a PER of 13.2 compared to Odom's 18, a true shooting percentage of 55% compared to Odom's 59%, and a total rebounding percentage of 7.3 which is less than half of Odom's 16.7.
That said, Turkoglu has value in creating shots for teammates. He assists on an estimated 21.6% of his teammates' shots when he's on the floor, compared with Odom's 9.1 rate.
What does it all mean?
The Lakers can make the case that at 29, in a bad economy and alongside Ron Artest, Odom is set to produce less on the basketball court, while the team has less ability to make money off of his efforts. They can also point out that their payroll is massive and in need of restraint. They have surely made the case that barring a big offer from Portland or Oklahoma City, or a sign-and-trade at the Lakers' behest, no one can pay Odom close to what the Lakers are offering.
The Odom camp can argue that $10 million is already a pay cut, the Lakers make more money than most teams, and how much can you ask a player to take a hit when he just won a le playing the best playoff basketball of his career?
So ... what's fair in a case like this? Both sides are right, so it's no wonder both sides sound frustrated. In a good economy, Odom is certainly the kind of player who would get a big contract. If Odom takes significantly less than $10 million from the Lakers, or plays somewhere for the mid-level, I'd take that as a sign that the economy is a factor in 2009 free agency.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/...amar-Odom.html
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