It’s quite surprising that a player in the caliber of Lamar Odom still doesn’t have a team for next season, but the combination of not wanting to play outside Los Angeles and the huge dip in his ability over the last couple of years ever since leaving the Lakers makes it a very rough free agency for the two-time NBA champion.

Odom doesn’t want to play for anyone but the Clippers, his team from last season, or the Lakers. He never wanted to leave Los Angeles in 2011, but being place on the trade for Chris Paul pushed him to ask for another trade once the first one proposed was cancelled by the NBA.

Odom averaged only 4 points per game last season, but his rebounding and passing as a big man are still a very desirable trait in the NBA. The problem? Odom wants to play for only two teams. The Clippers still show some interest in him, but have been adding players to their frontcourt, probably hoping they can cope without Odom next season.

The Lakers? Odom has met with them, but right now, it seems like the interest is coming a lot more from him than from them. The Lakers could use all the help they can get next season in pretty much every position on the floor, but they’re pretty much set in the frontcourt for now. They would be willing to add certain players, but they’re not sure he can actually give them anything they don’t already have.

Odom was a double double player or around that for most of his time with the Lakers, averaging 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds on his final season with the team. He’ll be turning 34 in the beginning of next season and while physically he’s clearly still capable of playing a part off the bench for most teams in the league, the question is how much is left in terms of motivation for him to succeed.

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