Apr 10, 2012 02:14 AM EDT
Lamar Odom Trade A Mistake for Lakers, Mavericks

The Lamar Odom trade in December appeared to be extremely one-sided at first glance.

The Dallas Mavericks acquired Odom, the 2010-11 Sixth Man of the Year, from the Lakers on Dec. 14thfor a first-round draft pick and a trade exception.

At the time it looked like an incredible steal for the defending NBA champions. The Mavericks were adding an incredibly versatile basketball player for a cheap price to help offset the losses of Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler via free agency to the Knicks and Clippers, respectively.

But after a tumultuous four month span with the Mavericks, the Lamar Odom era officially ended in Dallas on Monday. The Mavericks decided to place Odom on the inactive list for the remainder of the season -- ending a disaster for all parties involved.

Odom struggled professionally and personally in Dallas during his brief stint with the Mavericks. He averaged a mere 6.6 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game while unable to get accustomed to the new offensive schemes under Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. He wasn't unable to play his natural power forward position -- Dirk Nowitzki has that one covered -- and never quite got comfortable playing small forward.

The Mavericks have struggled to a 31-26 record after 11 consecutive 50 win seasons. Dallas is currently in seventh place in the Western Conference, but Phoenix and Utah are both within striking distance with less than a month remaining in the NBA season.

On paper the Mavericks looked to be one of the best teams in the West at the beginning of the season, but now have some glaring holes and look extremely doubtful to repeat a run to the NBA Finals. Odom was expected to fill a lot of the holes this season, but coming into the season out-of-shape and unmotivated seemingly doomed those hopes.

The Lakers are also worse off for dealing Odom to the Mavericks. Los Angeles dealt Odom to Dallas after an agreed upon deal to the New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul was overruled by NBA commissioner David Stern. The Lakers sensing that Odom's feelings were hurt by the trade rumors eventually dealt him for 50 cents on the dollar to Dallas.

The Lakers have had a stronger season than Dallas with a 35-22 record -- good for third place in the West -- but will miss Odom's versatility come playoffs time. The 6-foot-10 forward could do it all for the Lakers coming off the bench.

Whether Odom would have replicated past performances this season with the Lakers is somewhat up in the air. He did deal with a lot in his private life in the off-season, including the death of his cousin, which led him to not work on his game much.

But part of the Odom enigma is tapping into his somewhat shaky psyche and bringing the best out of him. Odom loved his time in Los Angeles with Kobe Bryant and his play reflected that -- just the way that he didn't love his time in Dallas.

Kobe Bryant, one of Odom's staunchest supporters, told reporters after a recent win over Dallas that Odom wasn't exactly dealt a fair hand, but that he could bring a lot to the table for the right team.

"It's tough," Bryant said. "He comes to a team that's pretty much set, you know what I mean? So it's hard for him to find his niche. The fans, they don't really understand what he does or how he can do it, you know what I mean?"

"I hope they don't unlock that mystery. I know. I know how to use him and to use his skill set and this, that and the other. But with this team, the roster that they had being pretty much set, it's tough for him to be able to find his groove here."

Odom could still end up with the Lakers. The Mavericks will leave him on the inactive list for the remainder of this season, but have until June 29th to either buy him out for $2.4 million or commit to the $8.2 million he is due next season.

The Mavericks could conceivably cut their losses and release Odom -- allowing him to return to Los Angeles or any other team of his desires. But that will have to come at the end of a season that has been derailed to some extent for both teams due to the Lamar Odom trade.

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