Despite all of the offseason drama, Lamar Odom is still in discussion to possibly sign with a team at some point this season. The free agent forward continues to work to put his personal issues behind him and teams are taking notice of his serious attempt to re-enter the league in 2013. With that, sources are reporting both Los Angeles teams could be interested.
ESPN.com is reporting that sources have said both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers are heavily monitoring Odom and have registered interest in possibly signing him sooner rather than later. Odom has spent time with both teams and it is believed that they give the former Sixth Man of the Year the best chance at a roster spot.
Odom has been seen training again and has been very open to joining back into the league. Sources say he is hoping to be on a team by the second half of the current season. Odom recently met with general managers of several teams in New York, but nothing ever came of those. Instead, Odom has spent the last few months fighting rumors of drug abuse, financial problems and DUI chargers. The NBA star reportedly spent time in a rehab facility, something that was rumored to be requested by the Lakers.
Odom has good history with both teams. He played his absolute best basketball with the Lakers, helping being the team a championship. He started slow with Clippers, but came on late as a strong rotational player. The Clippers also have an available roster spot. They kept one spot remaining coming out of training camp that could be for Odom.
The Lakers are caring the maximum 15 players, but most of the team is signed to one-year contracts leaving them with flexibility to sign Odom. Elias Harris, Xavier Henry and Ryan Kelly amongst others are signed to either partially guaranteed or fully unguaranteed minimum contracts.
The news of Odom comes on the heels of Phil Jackson claiming that the forward's NBA career in Los Angelels is likely over. The Hall of Fame coach told TMZ that the bridge between Odom and the Lakers was completely burned. Jackson knows the business of the Lakers better than anyone, but it appears he may be wrong about this one.
