Lamar Odom seems to be already a forgotten failure with the Dallas Mavericks as Rick Carlisle tries to keep them in the top 8 of the Western Conference, but I’m pretty sure Mark Cuban still has a lot of anger and frustration regarding the 2011 NBA Sixth Man of the year, who is still getting paid by Cuban despite practically quitting his job, via mutual agreement.
It’s not just Odom that doesn’t come out well of this whole story. The Mavericks, and Cuban, as the man pushing the trigger and running the show in Dallas, don’t look like some poor team getting hustled by a player who never really wanted to leave Los Angeles. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Odom lacks will and tenacity regarding training and sometimes during games. Cuban went for Odom and Carter hoping that it will somehow gel and mesh for another title run.
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But while Carter, after taking his time with, has found his place in the Mavs rotation, Odom was a complete failure from the first moment. Forget about posting career low numbers in points, rebounds, assists, FG% and minutes played. He clearly looked like a guy who didn’t want to be there, heading in for inconsistent minutes, even getting some D-League punishment, while routinely coming late for practices and team meetings.
Cuban was on his case from the beginning. Cuban describes himself as a fan, just as much as he is owner. Maybe the lines get blurry sometimes, which doesn’t always benefit Cuban and the Mavs. Odom and Cuban had a heated exchange of words during Odom’s final game with the Mavs in Memphis. Odom came up to Odom and pretty much yelled at him ‘Are you in or are you out?’ Not getting the kind of response he was hoping for, the end and mutual termination was soon to follow.
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This wasn’t the first time Odom and Cuban sort of clashed. Odom got called and yelled at by his boss from the seats when Odom showed no hustle, and being the sensitive guy he is, it never really got him going. Sulking was more like it. Lack of commitment would probably be the best way to describe it, be it from Odom’s own personal issues off the court or something else, some even saying he’s grown tired of the NBA in a very short time.
What about the money? Odom is owed the rest of his $8.9 million contract this season. Next year he’s owed $8.2 million, but the Mavs can buy out his contract for $2.4 million, or they can trade him. Right now, it doesn’t look like there will be too many people going for a player, talented and experienced, an NBA champion, who probably wants to play for only one team in this league, and they don’t even want him back.