Greg Oden, who last played in the NBA in 2009 and has had multiple major knee surgeries since then, got a contract for next season before Lamar Odom.
Which tells you about how far Odom’s stock has fallen.
He is battling Antawn Jamison and Al Harrington for the “veteran forward at the end of the bench” role and is losing out. His apparently rocky personal life is all over the tabloids and that is a distraction most teams do not want around, which when combined with his wishes for where to live and ideally wanting more than the league minimum has made it difficult to get a deal done.
In a Q&A this weekend, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel gave a small update on the Odom question from a Heat perspective.
This is a good jumping off point to break down where Odom stands.
Let’s start here: wherever Odom plays next season in the NBA it will be for the league minimum. At this point that’s all that teams are handing out (the teams that can or might be willing to hand out more are not places Odom wants to play). Odom is now 34 years old and he has seen a serious drop in his efficiency the past two seasons (PERs of 9.2 and 10.9) — even if you think he can bounce back, he can’t do it to his Sixth Man of the Year levels.
Both the Lakers and Clippers have had conversations with Odom, but there has been no deal.
The Clippers have the roster spot and could use the front court depth (unless you think Ryan Hollins and Byron Mullens are the answers) but the fact they had him on their team last season and haven’t made an offer to bring him back is telling. The Clippers are meeting with Jamison instead.
The Lakers also have the roster spot and it felt like they were getting the old band back together with Jordan Farmar returning. But the fact is they need athleticism and youth. Odom doesn’t bring those things anymore.
Miami is unlikely. With the signing of Greg Oden, the Heat have 14 guys on the roster. Technically Jarvis Varnado’s deal is not guaranteed, but the Heat also have some interest in second round draft pick James Ennis. Maybe Miami would have interest, and you would think Odom would be comfortable there (having played there before), but it’s not likely. Are the Heat really looking to add a tabloid distraction to the locker room?
So here we sit, with Odom still on the market. Eventually he is going to get a shot somewhere, but the question is where? And when? It might not come until after camps open and due to injuries or performance teams start to look at who is still on the market.