Lamar Odom Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Re-Sign Cole Aldrich, Waive Odom

July 11th, 2014 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

7:30pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

7:19pm: The Knicks have re-signed center Cole Aldrich reports Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). The length and terms of the contract have not been announced yet.

In 46 games last season for New York, Aldrich averaged 2.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 0.3 APG in 7.2 minutes per contest. His slash line was .541/.000/.867.

The team has also announced that they have waived Lamar Odom. In regards to Odom, the press release stated, “Unfortunately, Lamar was unable to uphold the standards to return as an NBA player.We found it necessary to free up the roster spot.” This move could mark the end of Odom’s NBA career.

Contract Details: Knicks, Pelicans, Heat, Bulls

June 21st, 2014 at 7:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

August 1st will be a key date for many teams and players in the NBA, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports details in the latest update to his salary database. Knicks guard Shannon Brown and Melvin Ely of the Pelicans have their minimum-salary contracts fully guaranteed if their respective teams don’t waive them by the end of that day, Deeks reports. It’s also the day when Justin Hamilton of the Heat earns a partial guarantee of $408,241 and Bulls big man Lou Amundson has his deal partially guaranteed for $300K if they’re not waived, according to Deeks. The salary data guru has a few more revelations, as we note below:

Hamilton’s partial guarantee increases to $612,362 should the Heat elect not to waive by the end of December 1st.
Lamar Odom‘s deal becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the Knicks roster past September 10th.
The Knicks have another deadline to consider on September 15th, the final day they can waive Jeremy Tyler without owing him a $100K partial guarantee.
Jorge Gutierrez receives a $25K partial guarantee if he sticks with the Nets past September 26th.
Jarvis Varnado‘s deal with the Sixers is already partially guaranteed for $75K.

Atlantic Notes: Fisher, Odom, Celtics, Stackhouse

June 9th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks are set to ramp up their pursuit of Derek Fisher this week, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein hears that the Knicks are approaching the situation with some level of trepidation since Steve Kerr unraveled after he appeared to be a slam dunk. Here’s more out of the Atlantic..

Lamar Odom, who has a non-guaranteed deal with the Knicks for 2014/15, is expected to join the club at their practice facility by the end of the month, a source with knowledge of the veteran forward’s plans told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The 34-year-old signed with the Knicks on the final day of the regular season.
Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge indicated the team could trade back into the second round in what is expected to be a deep draft, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. The C’s gave their second-round pick (No. 34) to the Mavs last year to jump up three spots and grab Kelly Olynyk in the first round. The 76ers, meanwhile, have five second round choices in this year’s draft.
Jerry Stackhouse is pushing for a job within the Knicks organization, writes Brett Pollakoff of Pro Basketball Talk. “It’s a possibility,” Stackhouse told reporters at the Adidas Eurocamp. “I think [Jackson] is still figuring it out. He doesn’t know who the head coach is going to be, but I think after that is settled, there could be some realistic possibilities.” Stackhouse, who has been coaching at the AAU level for five years, wants to ultimately become a head coach, but he’s willing to start out as an assistant to move towards that goal.
Kevin O’Connor of WEEI.com looks at UCLA power forward Kyle Anderson and how he could be a potential fit for the Celtics. Because C’s coach Brad Stevens likes his offense to move the ball and shoot it from deep, Anderson would be a natural fit right from the get go.

Knicks Sign Lamar Odom

April 16th, 2014 at 6:17pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Knicks have signed Lamar Odom for the remainder of the season, the team announced. We heard yesterday that New York was nearing a deal with Odom, but a report earlier today suggested there was a chance the team would opt to sign Ike Diogu instead. However, the Knicks eventually decided on Odom, and the big man inked a two-year, minimum salary pact that covers the final game of 2013/14 and features a non-guaranteed year next season, as Howard Beck of Bleacher Report passes along (via Twitter).

Odom’s injury will keep him from playing in the Knicks’ final contest tonight, but the real value in his signing comes from his non-guaranteed second season. New York will be able to use Odom to help match salaries in any deal the club makes before July. Or, if the Knicks are interested in potentially hanging on to the 34-year-old, they can evaluate his abilities in the offseason and cut him without taking a salary hit if it’s decided he isn’t fit to make the squad.

Over the course of 14 NBA seasons, Odom has averaged 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He hasn’t seen action since appearing in all 82 contests for the Clippers in 2012/13, when he played an average of 19.7 minutes per night. He’s represented by Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management. The Knicks roster now stands at a league maximum 15 players to conclude the year.

Knicks Mull Signing Ike Diogu

April 16th, 2014 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks are considering a deal with Ike Diogu today that would extend into next season, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). Presumably, such a move would be instead of signing Lamar Odom. The team is still in talks with Odom, according to Begley, but apparently he’s not the only one on the Knicks’ radar as they look to fill their open roster spot.

Diogu was with the Knicks during the preseason, but apparently they never intended to keep him into the regular season before cutting him prior to opening night. Still, he remained on the team’s short list, and a report in late February indicated the team was thinking about re-signing him. The Bobcats also reportedly auditioned the 30-year-old big man about a month ago before signing DJ White instead.

The veteran of parts of six NBA seasons has spent most of 2013/14 with the Bakersfield Jam in the D-League, appearing in 42 games and averaging 18.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest. He hasn’t appeared in official NBA games since 2011/12, when he made a two-game cameo with the Spurs. Diogu, the ninth overall pick in the 2005 draft, last saw significant NBA action with the Clippers in 2010/11.

Diogu’s salary for next season would almost certainly be non-guaranteed. The motivation to sign a player today is so that the Knicks could use that non-guaranteed salary as trade ballast to help salaries match if they make a swap before July. Still, Odom, a 14-year veteran, would be more valuable in that regard than Diogu, whose minimum salary wouldn’t be quite as high.

Eastern Notes: Stoudemire, Odom, Cavs

April 15th, 2014 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Amar’e Stoudemire is thinking about leaving the NBA after next season to instead play for the team he owns in Israel, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Stoudemire is part of a four-man group that holds a 60% stake in Hapoel Jerusalem.

“We’ll see,’’ Stoudemire said. “You can’t rule anything out. The future is unknown and so if I have an opportunity to [play in Israel] and am still in great health, it would be great. I have one more year left on my deal and we’ll go from there.’’

Stoudemire seemed more enthusiastic about the idea in other remarks, saying he’s “absolutely” considering the possibility and that there’s a “high chance” he’ll go through with it, observes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter links). He has an early termination option on his contract for 2014/15, but he’ll almost certainly opt in and collect the more than $23.4MM coming his way in the final season of his deal with the Knicks. Here’s more from the East:

The Knicks apparently had interest in Lamar Odom even before Phil Jackson arrived, as coach Mike Woodson told reporters today that the 34-year-old’s name came up in the team’s conversations earlier this season, Berman notes via Twitter.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is upset with his team’s performance, and a source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Cleveland will make a significant trade this summer. That’s a sign that Gilbert is no fan of his roster, Amico concludes.
People around the league indicate that the Pistons will likely hire someone from outside the organization to replace Joe Dumars, Amico writes in the same piece.
Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News lays out some of the issues that will confront the new head of basketball ops for the Pistons.

Knicks Move Closer To Signing Lamar Odom

April 15th, 2014 at 7:59am CST by Eddie Scarito

MARCH 15TH: The Knicks and Odom are making progress toward striking a deal before the regular season is over on Wednesday, according to Stein. Odom probably isn’t healthy enough to play in either of the Knicks’ final two games, Stein hears, but the contract would cover 2014/15 with non-guaranteed money, the ESPN.com scribe adds.

MARCH 11TH: The Knicks are considering signing Lamar Odom prior to the end of the season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Stein (Twitter link) the team is considering a deal with a team option for the 2014/15 season so they could take the summer to evaluate him and his health.

Odom had recently met with Knicks president Phil Jackson, but the reason for the meeting wasn’t made public. Odom, who played for Jackson when both were with the Lakers, had his NBA comeback stalled due to an injury while signed overseas.

He last saw NBA action with the Clippers during the 2012/13 season. In 82 games he averaged 4.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 19.7 minutes per game. His career averages are 13.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 3.7 APG in 33.4 minutes a night.

Atlantic Rumors: Odom, Young, Thomas

April 12th, 2014 at 8:41am CST by Cray Allred

The Knicks beat a tough opponent in the Raptors last night, but didn’t get any help from their division mates, as the Nets fell to the Hawks. New York is now on the brink of playoff elimination. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Part of the Knicks strategy in signing Lamar Odom would be to add trade flexibility, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. The thinking is that an additional non-guaranteed year on Odom’s contract would allow Phil Jackson to include him as a cap consideration in a potential deal down the road.
While Thaddeus Young has become optimistic about the Sixers future, he tells Jason Smith of CSNPhilly.com that he still wonders whether he will be traded in the offseason all the time. “One thing I’ve always said: Just like upstairs, they put their GM hats on,” said Young. “I put mine on also. It’s not just about basketball. It’s about me as a player. This is a business, and it’s about doing what’s best for my family. It may be here, or it may not be here.”
Adonis Thomas is playing out the season on a 10-day contract with the Sixers, and tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he thinks he’s making a good impression. “I just wanted to stay aggressive,” Thomas said after his first Sixers appearance. “I think I did a great job. Coach [Brett Brown] put me in there. One of the biggest things they want me to do is be aggressive no matter how much time you get. Just go in there and give your all.”

Atlantic Notes: Odom, Sixers, Patterson

April 5th, 2014 at 9:02pm CST by Cray Allred

Knicks president Phil Jackson met with Lamar Odom recently, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. The conversation could have been about a potential signing, but the nature of the meeting is unclear. Odom, who played for Jackson when both were with the Lakers, had his NBA comeback stalled due to an injury while signed overseas. Jackson earlier met with Metta World Peace, another former Laker from his coaching past who is currently without a team. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers coach Brett Brown says having multiple players on 10-day contracts is a challenge, telling reporters including Tom Moore of Calkins Media it’s hard on everyone (Twitter links). “I want to help them audition, whether it’s for me here or somewhere else,” Brown said.
James Nunnally‘s second 10-day deal with the Sixers expires today. He told Moore, “You’ve just got to be confident in what you did and what you’re doing.” (Twitter link)
In a separate piece, Moore looks at the possibility of the Sixers not getting the top-overall pick in this year’s draft lottery, going through some of the players GM Sam Hinkie could target.
Patrick Patterson is back on the court for the Raptors after a tough injury sidelined him for weeks, and he tells Holly McKenzie of Raptors.com that he’s glad to make it back for the postseason run. Patterson was traded away from the Rockets last year to forestall what would have been his first playoff stretch, but was sent from the Kings to playoff-bound Toronto this season. “Not a lot of guys on this team have been to the playoffs. Those guys who have been to the playoffs have talked to us and told us what it’s like and I think that’s motivation for the rest of us to continue doing what we have been doing,” said Patterson, who has been impressed by the Raptors fan base. “Canada, I figured, of course it’s hockey. I never would have imagined that the fans would pretty much sell out every game we play here. Probably the most surprising thing I’ve seen here since I’ve been here, [is] the fan support.”

Lamar Odom’s Comeback Cut Short By Injury

March 15th, 2014 at 9:03am CST by Cray Allred

Two games into his professional comeback, Lamar Odom is leaving his Spanish team due to a back injury, as first reported by Marc Stein of ESPN. Enea Trapani of Sportando reports that the Baskonia club has terminated Odom’s contract. Odom is returning stateside for at least two months to have his back evaluated and treated. That process would have lasted the duration of his two-month deal, but the team could have extended the deal another two months. While the team hopes to have Odom back, they opted to scrap the current deal and work on re-signing him when the time comes, per Trapani.

Odom told Baskonia’s official website that he is grateful for the short time he played there, and said he wants to return as soon as possible (translation via Trapani). “I want to say thank you. I’m grateful to the fans for their support and understanding. Not only people, but the whole of Vitoria has shown me much appreciation as a person and not just as a basketball player. I would like to thank you for your continued support. I am a bit embarrassed, but at the same time I am proud to say I’m injured and I still have a team that understands and continues to support me,” Odom said. “This means a lot to me and forces me to have a lot of respect.”

While both team and player sound positive about the chances of a reunion, Trapani tweets that he is less optimistic one will occur. Odom had hoped to revive his NBA career, using international play as his first stepping stone back. This is an unfortunate roadblock for Odom, who is trying to overcome a tumultuous stretch in his personal and professional life that has kept the 34-year-old out of the league this year.