Lamar Odom May Be on His Way Out of Los Angeles

Lamar Odom's career as a Los Angeles Laker may come to an end this off-season. Odom came to the Lakers three summers ago from the Miami Heat in the Shaquille O'Neal trade. Since that trade, the Lakers have not advanced past the first round of the NBA playoffs. It's hard to pin any of the blame for the Lakers' woes on Odom, but the NBA is a business and a deal may need to be done.

In late May, Lakers megastar, Kobe Bryant sent shockwaves through the NBA by demanding a trade. The Lakers' front office has expressed their desire to keep Bryant as the face of their franchise. In order to do that, a mega overhaul of their roster is needed. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they have very few trade assets. In fact Odom, Andrew Bynum, and Kwame Brown's expiring contract are the only chips the Lakers have that would generate any interest around the league.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been put in a very difficult position by Bryant's demand and it seems inevitable that Lamar Odom will be dealt. Especially considering that salaries must come close to matching in NBA trades. The Lakers need to be very careful, however, and make sure they don't deal Odom just to make a trade.

Lamar Odom is an incredibly rare talent in the NBA. He stands about six foot, ten inches tall and can do just about anything on the court. He can bring the ball up the court and dish passes like a point guard. He can battle underneath the basket to grab rebounds (he lead the Lakers in rebounding last season). He puts up solid numbers in just about every category. Yet, people want to point to some mysterious 'x-factor' that Odom lacks.

People will say that Lamar Odom is not a good defender, but defense is a team concept and the Lakers were abysmal last year. It is unfair to put all of that on Odom. People will say that Lamar Odom has a lackadaisical approach to the game and doesn't leave it all out on the court, but they must not have been watching him in this year's playoffs. It seems as if people feel that Lamar Odom is expendable. Lakers fans should hope their front office doesn't have that mentality, because it could lead to a catastrophic mistake.

Lamar Odom may not be a perfect 'fit' on the Lakers and there may be a good trade out there for the Lakers to make. Rumors have been surfacing that Pacers forward, Jermaine O'Neal, is on the Lakers' radar. Many feel that O'Neal's post presence would benefit the Lakers more than Odom's 'jack of all trait' style. That could very well be the case, but the Lakers need to act very carefully because if they make a wrong move with Odom, their franchise will fall farther than they already have.