Lamar Odom is working his way towards not playing in the NBA next season. The veteran forward had a roster spot waiting for him with the Los Angeles Clippers. The team had a contract waiting for him and he disappeared. The team opted to go with Antawn Jamison instead. The Los Angeles Lakers were at one point an option, but that door has no closed as well.
Serena Winters of Lakers Nation is reporting that general manager Mitch Kupchak and Odom's agent have not had a single conversation regarding a contract for the one-time Laker player. There was a rumor floating around that if Odom went to rehab to address his recent rumored drug struggles, they would offer him a roster spot. That is now confirmed as not true.
Winters writes that while the Lakers say they are very fond of Odom and thankful for the time he gave to the team, they are not opening up conversations about re-joining the team. They are concerned about his well-being but they rumors about rehab are also untrue.
"Mitch Kupchak, the general manager of the Lakers, offered the sensational lifeline to 33-year-old Odom's agent, Jeff Schwartz, "because the organization and the Buss family are extremely concerned about him," according to a source with knowledge of the situation, who spoke exclusively to RadarOnline.com."
The drug use rumors spawned after TMZ reported Odom had gone missing for three days and was on a drug bender. While the veteran has not addressed any of these rumors, his agent did say his client is staying at a hotel while friends attempt to get him some help.
There is no question that Odom played his best basketball with the Lakers. He has expressed interest in re-joining the team after spending a year with the Clippers. Odom won the Sixth Man of the Year award while with the Lakers and helped lead them to an NBA title.
Odom's best shot at joining an NBA roster was with the Clippers. The team was very interested in re-signing the forward to finish off their roster. Head coach Doc Rivers had been very impressed with what he saw from Odom on film. The team had a veteran's minimum contract waiting for him. After signing Jamison, the Clippers have said they are no longer interested in Odom.
