Lamar Odom Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Rumors: Whiteside, Odom, Nash, Dragic

April 13th, 2012 at 7:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The top three teams in the Pacific Division are all scrambling for playoff position in the season's final two weeks, as the Lakers and Clippers go after the division title while the Suns, who get free-agent-to-be Grant Hill back from knee surgery tonight, are just looking to qualify for the postseason. Here's the latest from the West Coast:

Kings reserve center Hassan Whiteside will miss the rest of the season with a severe ankle sprain, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). Whiteside has two years left on his contract at less than $1M each, but they're not guaranteed if he's waived before July 15. The 2010 second round pick has played in just 19 games for Sacramento, with much of his action coming in the past two months. He's averaged 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in just 6.1 MPG this season.
Lamar Odom has close ties to Warriors assistant coach Jerry DeGregorio, who was the best man in his wedding to Khloe Kardashian, notes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Earlier this week we passed along that Odom is on Golden State's radar.
Point guards Goran Dragic and Steve Nash will both hit the free agent market this summer, but they aren't letting the notion that they may be competing for dollars get in the way of their mutual admiration from their time together with the Suns, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
Blake Griffin, who'll be a free agent after next season, has taken some criticism this year, and SI.com's Sam Amick takes a lengthy look at how the reigning Rookie of the Year is dealing with increased expectations of himself and the Clippers this season.

Atlantic Notes: Bargnani, Odom, Nets, Woodson

April 13th, 2012 at 4:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics look to move one step closer to clinching the Atlantic Division and first-round home-court advantage when they play the shorthanded Raptors in Toronto tonight. Here's the latest on Toronto and a few other Atlantic teams:

Andrea Bargnani will be shut down for the season with a left calf injury, the Raptors announced today in a team release. Considering where the team sits in the standings, the decision likely has as much to do with securing a good draft pick as it does with Bargnani's calf.
The Mavericks could potentially have avoided a good deal of drama if the Lakers' trade for Chris Paul had gone through in December. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Lamar Odom would have been sent to the Nets if that Paul deal had gone through. The Hornets, knowing Odom wouldn't be happy in New Orleans, had a deal in place to trade Odom for a future first-round pick, says Stein.
Nets coach Avery Johnson had a two-hour meeting with majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov this week about the future of the team, writes Fred Kerber of the New York Post.
Making Mike Woodson the full-time coach rather than bringing in a big-name candidate this summer would give the Knicks a chance for stability, says Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Odds & Ends: Mavs, Beasley, Bucks, Raptors

April 12th, 2012 at 10:32pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Thursday evening:

Dallas radio hosts Barry Horn and Kevin Sherrington weighed in on a couple of Mavericks issues. Horn believes the Mavs are a better team without Lamar Odom, who was shut down earlier this week.
Sherrington speculates that the Mavs are still interested in acquiring Dwight Howard, especially if they can't sign Deron Williams this summer.
Michael Beasley told Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press that he wants to stay with the Timberwolves going forward. Beasley is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says the Bucks lack a clear direction for the future and will not contend with their current roster. Hunt believes the first step will be re-signing Ersan Ilyasova this summer.
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star doubts that Raptors 10-day contract signees Ben Uzoh and Justin Dentmon will be anything more than placeholders for the team.

Southwest Rumors: Gordon, Hornets, Grizz, Odom

April 12th, 2012 at 4:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Around the time I posted this afternoon's Free Agent Stock Watch piece on Eric Gordon, SI.com's Sam Amick published an article in which he discussed Gordon's impending free agency with the Hornets guard himself. While New Orleans has the inside track to sign Gordon this summer, Amick names the Pacers, Trail Blazers, Mavericks, and Suns as other teams with some interest. The Hornets' new ownership group could also have an impact on how aggressive New Orleans is in matching rival offers for Gordon.

Here are a few more Southwest Division links:

Mike Dunleavy is part of the group likely to purchase the Hornets, a fact that concerns the team's current management, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. "Mike is going to want his own people in there, he has a reputation as a control freak," a Hornets source told Deveney. "It will be good for the team obviously to have an owner in. But I think everybody is a little on edge because of that, because you don't know what is going to happen. Or I guess you do know, you know there are going to be changes coming once there’s a new group in charge. It could be a house cleaning."
Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has transformed the team's rotation through minor roster moves and lineup shuffling, says Rob Mahoney of the New York Times.
Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com wonders how much money Lamar Odom cost himself in the long-term due to his poor season with the Mavericks.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban never believed that Odom wanted to sit out this season, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Southeast Notes: Maggette, Odom, Wade, Wittman

April 12th, 2012 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Eastern Conference playoff seeding will be on the line the next two nights, with a focus on Southeast teams. Tonight, the Heat take on the Bulls in what is a must-win game if Miami wants a shot at the East's top seed. Tomorrow night, the Hawks and Magic, who have identical 34-24 records, play in Orlando in a game Dwight Howard is expected to miss. While we await what should be some good on-court action, let's catch up on the latest off-court updates out of the Southeast Division….

In a press release, the Bobcats announced that Corey Maggette will miss the rest of the season with an ongoing right Achilles injury. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer wonders if Maggette has played his last game for the Bobcats, identifying the veteran as a potential amnesty candidate.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel thinks the Heat could be a good fit for Lamar Odom, if Odom was willing to accept a significant pay cut to come to Miami next season.
After saying yesterday that he believed players should be compensated for playing in the Olympics, Dwyane Wade backtracked on those comments today. The Heat star released a statement clarifying that he didn't want to be paid to play for Team USA in London this summer.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman isn't worried about his fate for next season, telling Michael Lee of the Washington Post that "whatever happens, happens."

Barkley On Bulls, Thibodeau, Nowitzki, Odom

April 11th, 2012 at 5:51pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Charles Barkley has always remained an outspoken basketball analyst who minces no words. A co-author of a book called "I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It", Barkley recently provided his take on topics surrounding the Bulls and Mavericks:

In an ESPN Chicago report, Barkley says that he liked what he saw from Chicago in their win over the Knicks on Tuesday night, and breaks down why he feels that they can beat the Heat if they meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.
According to Charles, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau should be one of the top five paid coaches in the league. Thibodeau may soon get that opportunity, as his contract expires this summer. (ESPNChicago.com link)
He isn't sold on the notion that Dirk Nowitzki can return to form as a dependable go-to guy, and asserts that he is "never wrong on Father Time" (Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas reports).
SportsDayDFW highlighted a few notes from Barkley's visit with Galloway and Company of KESN-FM 103.3 in Dallas, most notably his feeling that Lamar Odom does not deserve to get paid for his disappointing lack of productivity this year.

Lamar Odom’s Trade Value

April 11th, 2012 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

We heard this morning that the Warriors have Lamar Odom on their radar as a potential offseason addition, but Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com questions whether Odom would be a wise investment for Golden State. The Warriors need sure-things, Steinmetz argues, and they don't want to bring in a player that could be a locker-room distraction.

Noting that even trying to sign Odom to the mid-level exception might be ill-advised, Steinmetz all but rules out the possibility of giving up any assets to trade for the veteran. One GM tells Chris Mannix of SI.com that different teams may value the 32-year-old differently, since he's only tradeable to teams for whom he'd want to play (Twitter link). That makes his trade value limited, at best.

Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com is even more pessimistic about what Odom could bring the Mavericks in a trade. The most likely scenario, in MacMahon's opinion, is Dallas essentially paying a team to execute Odom's buyout. If the Mavs dealt Odom, cash, and a second-round pick to a team with enough cap room to absorb Odom's salary, they'd save $2.4MM in 2012/13 cap space and create a trade exception worth $8.2MM. The team acquiring Odom, meanwhile, would sacrifice a small amount of cap room, but could ultimately come out even as far as cash goes, and gain a second-rounder in the deal.

It wouldn't surprise me if a team was able to talk itself into rolling the dice on Odom, and traded for him before or during the June draft. His upside is tantalizing, and perhaps a year removed from this season's drama, he'll bounce back to his previous level of production. But the Lakers are the only team that can be reasonably confident in what they're getting in Odom, and they're the only NBA club that can't acquire him until next season.

It may not have the same amount of intrigue as the draft-lottery balls or Deron Williams' impending free agency, but Odom's fate will be an offseason subplot worth tracking. If he can recapture the form that earned him the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2010/11, Odom has the potential to be a huge bargain for his new team. If not, he could be a waste of $8MM+ for one more year.

Warriors Eyeing Lamar Odom

April 11th, 2012 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

Lamar Odom's departure from Dallas has been impossible to avoid for the Mavericks this week. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd were still being asked about it last night, and owner Mark Cuban cited Odom's reality show as a possible factor in the veteran forward's disappointing season in Dallas.

For other teams, however, the Odom drama represents an opportunity rather than a distraction. According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, Odom is on the Warriors' radar as the offseason approaches.

Getting Odom to Golden State would be difficult. He's on a non-guaranteed contract for next season, owed a buyout of $2.4MM on June 29th or $8.2MM if he's on a roster past that point. The Warriors would probably have to acquire Odom via trade, since I doubt he'd be eager to sign as a free agent with a non-contender that could only offer him the mid-level exception. Golden State would want to find a way to add Odom to a starting lineup of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee, and Andrew Bogut.

With Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com suggesting Odom left his heart and head in Los Angeles, the Warriors may have the geographic advantage over most of the league, but Oakland isn't L.A. and the Warriors aren't the Lakers. I have trouble seeing the Warriors' interest evolving into anything real here.

Odds & Ends: Odom, Bucks, Knicks, Hudson

April 10th, 2012 at 10:32pm CST by Daniel Seco

Let's take a look around the league to catch up on the latest news from Tuesday evening…

With Lamar Odom set to be listed as inactive for the remainder of the season, the question becomes where the former Rhode Island star will end up next year, ponders Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times. Schilken checks in with a series of different sports writers from around the Tribune Co. family of newspapers and finds two teams (both hailing from Los Angeles) that may prove to be a good fit for the beleaguered forward. Even though Odom had a rough stretch with the Mavs, he is still only one season removed from being the most productive sixth man in the league.
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes Wednesday night's matchup against the Knicks is the most important game of the Bucks' entire season. A victory by the Bucks over the Knicks would give Milwaukee a head-to-head playoff tiebreaker in the case both teams finish with the same record. While the Bucks are currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking up at the Sixers and Knicks, the team does have the least difficult schedule remaining out of the three teams.
Forget Phil Jackson and John Calipari for the Knicks head coaching job, says ESPN NBA Insider Chris Broussard, especially if the Knicks can make a run in the playoffs. Broussard thinks Mike Woodson can remain the coach in New York if he can get his team to challenge the Bulls or the Heat and make the first round of the playoffs competitive. Woodson has done an excellent job of inspiring his team to play strong defense, maximizing the offensive output of Carmelo Anthony and fostering the growth of rookie guard Iman Shumpert.
The signing of Lester Hudson from the NBA D-League marks one of the best moves the Cavaliers have made this season, writes FOXSportsOhio.com's Sam Amico. After scoring 49 total points in his last two games, Hudson added another 25 points Tuesday night against the Bobcats. What impresses Amico most is how Hudson has provided a boost off of the bench late in the game as the former Celtics second-round draft pick has scored 32 total points in the fourth quarter of the past two games.

Western Notes: Cuban, Griffin, Clippers

April 10th, 2012 at 8:25pm CST by Daniel Seco

With the playoff picture out west very much unsettled with 10 games to go, let's check in on the Western Conference to catch up on the latest news and happenings.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hopes making Lamar Odom inactive for the remainder of the season is addition by subtraction in his latest comments on the issue, reports Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com. While Cuban admitted he knew Odom was a fragile entity given how upset the player became in the wake of almost being sent to the Hornets in the Chris Paul trade that never materialized, the Mavs owner was confident he could get the most out of the former Rhode Island star. "Do I feel let down? No. But am I disappointed? Yeah," Cuban said. "I wanted it to work. We worked hard to make it work, but I failed. I couldn't make it work so we moved on. I failed; my business, my company, my team. When we (mess) up, I'll take responsibility."
Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman defends Blake Griffin against the growing notion that the former Oklahoma star has developed into a "villain" in the NBA. After being the toast of the league just a year ago, Griffin's reputation has taken a hit for reasons that truly shock new teammate Chris Paul, who has nothing but good things to say about the second-year star. Carlson suggests some of the criticism stems from the highlight-reel dunks Griffin has thrown down this season and how Griffin responds in the wake of them.
The Clippers are heading toward unfamiliar territory as they are on track to secure the fourth seed in the Western Conference thanks to completely overhauled roster, writes John Rohde of The Oklahoman. Upon clinching their birth, the Clippers would be adding some substance to their not-so-illustrious playoff history. Making the playoffs this season would mark the team's third appearance since 1998 and fifth since 1977 when the team was known as the Buffalo Braves.