At halftime of his final game with the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night, Lamar Odom had an angry exchange with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in the visitors’ locker room in Memphis, according to sources familiar with the discussion.
Sources told ESPNDallas.com that the heated words were “the culmination” of an exasperating weekend. That convinced team officials to initiate discussions on Easter that led to the parties agreeing split for the rest of the season.
According to sources, the crux of the heated halftime confrontation was Cuban asking Odom if he was “in or out.” Sources said Odom, who had played only four minutes in the first half, reacted angrily to the question and did not take his seat on the bench until after the third quarter began.
According to Stein and McMahon, Cuban had been one of Odom’s biggest supporters during his lousy season with the Mavericks, but it looks like he simply got fed up with Odom’s uneven and uninspired play. Odom averaged just 6.6 points per game on 35.2% shooting for the Mavericks this season before he agreed to be placed on the inactive list for the remainder of the year.
