I think this is a deliberate leak by Odom’s camp. The Lakers offered more money per year than the Heat did (though I’m not sure if that same offer is still there); it would be ridiculous for him not take the rumored offer.

The money is greatest in LA, so this is a bluff to get more out of Buss.

Either way, the LO is a luxury, not a necessity. The only necessities on the team are named Pau and Kobe. He makes the Lakers a top notch contending team, but without him the Lakers will be very good nonetheless, though not favorites for the championship. If LO does leave, a lot depends on Andrew Bynum’s development.

lamar is a pretty important piece of the triangle and losing him will show on next years team if he does decide to bounce. he’ll never be the greatest defender in the leauge (even though he could “guard 4 positions”, albeit none of them to perfection) but his presence would be missed on offense. the salary situation the lakers are facing is starting to make me wish kobe would’ve taken a pay cut last month, silly as it sounded then.

all this talk of legacy considerations in regards to odom staying on the lakers and maybe winning another ring or two makes me wonder if he wouldn’t rather be the 2nd option in Miami instead of the 4th, 5th, or 6th in LA.

this is a team that might win 70 games if Odom stays. Frankly I do expect him to stay but he’s going to come with a price that might turn the Lakers team in 2013 what the Bulls were circa 1998. Just something to consider I guess.

The mere fact that you’re weighing playing with the HEAT versus the Lakers is just a slap in the face, since your camp has been about getting the most money possible.

/End of Rant

I am going to jump off a cliff. Williams is beyond horrible. Ike Diogu would be a better roster filler. Drew Gooden too.

The more I look at the report, the more I feel Lamar and his agent “released” this information in order to try and scare Buss/Mitch.

Especially this bit:

Odom has not reached a final decision, the sources said, but there is growing belief he will ultimately return to the Heat unless the Lakers improve their current offer.

I didn’t have any problem with Buss pulling the offer as a ploy, but then lowering the deal was completely unnecessary — and a complete misplay if eventually surpassing the Celtics for the most championships is important for him.

We hear a lot of PR about Buss’ competitive streak. In this case, it’ll wind up hurting him and the team.

Dynasties are few and far between. Kobe has just a few years left and this incredible opportunity to be the best NBA franchise ever is about to go away.

If Odom leaves, the Lakers have a mediocre bench (and that’s generous) and can be considered no better than San Antonio, Denver, Utah, etc.

With this roster — beyond the starters — I think we’ll be fortunate to even get to the West finals. No chance against Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando. The first five can’t play 40+ minutes night in and night out. Our bench will force monstrous minutes on the starters and by the time the playoffs come around, they’ll have nothing left.

I don’t blame Odom in this. Free agency means you have the right to shop around. Everybody understands the process. The Dodgers played a similar scenario out with Manny Ramirez and got it done. Everybody was happy in the end.

I’m beginning to think that we’re not going to see the same thing with this situation.

Somebody suggested that Kobe take a pay cut. His ego would never allow it, but a guy who wants that seventh ring — one more than Jordan — might see this as his last chance and would tell Buss to sign Odom, PERIOD, even if it means taking a few coins from his loot.

In the end if all Odom wants is the old deal back on the table, and Buss refuses, then the old man really cares more about the money than being the best ever.

You can always make more money. But there is ONLY ONE best ever.

We’ll know soon which Buss wants most.

Shannon Brown didn’t whine and haggle …

What does Miami have to offer that is superior to LA? Money, prestige, lifestyle and championship possibilities all seem to favor LA, who has been more than fair with their offers.

I see Lamar faltering if he leaves because he’ll move up on the totem pole in Miami and he does better as the 3rd option at the highest. It was also pointed out how long term security is a lame argument for someone who has already earned 70 million or so, with 30 more offered. Is getting $4 mill more in guaranteed money (with more years) really that big a deal? I really like LO, but he leaves, it’s his own stupidity.

Mortie lives next door. He’s 60-something and has been a Lakers’ fan since the team got to L.A.

He used to attend games at a half-filled Sports Arena when nobody cared about Elgin Baylor or Jerry West, and before the team started its gut-crushing string of losses to Boston.

Mortie agonized with the loss to the Celtics last year. “We were so close and if we hadn’t blown that lead in game four, we’d have taken them in Boston.”

He figures the Lakers ought to be tied with the Celtics for most titles right now, not trailing 17-15. He constantly talks of his desire to see L.A. finally surpass the Celtics as the league’s franchise with the most championships.

This is why he’s so upset with Jerry Buss right now. He curses Buss every time we talk.

“He’s a freakin’ billionaire and makes a ton of money every year with his investments, including the Lakers. I can’t believe he won’t spend a little more to let us fans finally get our bragging rights on Boston.”

Regardless of Dr. Buss’ poker personality and his love to squeeze people in negotiations, he’s forgetting about all of the Morties who have supported this team for 20, 30, 40, almost 50 years.

Their love of the team precedes Buss’ interest by far. For a lot of them, they’d like to see the Dodgers win a World Series, but the one thing they really want is for the Lakers to finally slam the door on the Celtics’ claim of being the best team of all time.

I’ve heard Mortie mention it a thousand times.

Sure, it’s Buss’ money, by way of the pocketbooks of people like Mortie, and you, and me.
He can spend it or not; it’s his choice.

Buss can afford to pay Odom.

Buss cannot afford to lose Odom, not if he truly understands the talent level of the Lakers, and their real chances to repeat.

Not if he cares anything about the Morties of the world, who bleed purple and gold.

I can’t even imagine what Mortie will be like if Odom walks away and signs with Miami.

We all know a Mortie and there’s a little bit of him in all of us.

I’m hoping there’s a little bit of Mortie in Jerry Buss, too.

Which means the Lakers over-valued LO by $2-3mil/year with the initial offer. They now realize this and are adjusting to market value….the same as you and I might with purchasing real estate or some other asset (in fact, there is a strong parallel in the way LO has handled his plummeting value compared to what homeowners face in a declining real estate market). LO and his agent had an opportunity to figure this out but didn’t. The Lakers should offer a bit more than the Heat’s offer in guaranteed $ and match the years and leave it at that. If LO leaves for a lesser team and for lesser pay, how smart would that be? Not very. Just as with a homeowner, LO is struggling with his new, lesser value.
Remember, the Lakers have had this issue with LO in the contract that just expired. One of the reasons the Lakers couldn’t trade LO in prior years was because he underperformed his contract. No other team wanted to pay $11 – $14 mil/yr for a guy that could not produce as a #2 or #3 option in their offense and played with such inconsistency. Now they should make that same mistake again? If they sign him, they may want to trade him during the next 3-5 years, so you need to sign him to a contract you can trade. Slightly above the market rate is the right price for the Lakers, only because he is a good system and chemistry fit for us. At some price beyond this, he is expendable.

One thing I think we all occasionally overlook is what has been/is demanded of Lamar. A player of his caliber, in the second-half of his balling prime, is a starter on nearly every squad around the league and we ask him to come off the bench (a decision he acquiesced to reluctantly). Beyond legacy, beyond stats and beyond minutes, I can easily acknowledge that all professional athletes have an ego; suffice it to say, coming off the bench—regardless of how much more money he could be earning per year in LA—may not be that appealing anymore.

At the end of the day (and to a degree this applies to Trevor’s departure as well) what may mean more to a competitor is that he has the ability to showcase himself consistently on a night-in and night-out basis. Lamar is only a starter when Pau or Andrew are ill or injured; I imagine this wears on Lamar mentally. Why be a 6th man in LA when you can be the second or third scoring threat in Miami?

"The business of basketball," surprisingly isn’t always about money—it is about balancing the perspectives and desires of the player and the team. I bet Lamar will happily continue coming off the bench and playing the pivotal 6th man if the Lakers and Dr. Buss will go so far as to guarantee that role for more than three years. Which, in essence, is what he’s asking for—and has been all along: I remember reading in an article (http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1153359/index.htm) that all Lamar wants is to settle down and put his "feet in the sand."

With that said, I really wish Buss (and the rest of you fair-weather fans who are all so willing to kick Lamar out on his ass) would drop the pretense—not only was LO an important part of this team’s rebuilding post-Shaq, but he was integral in our championship this year. Beyond being sorely missed by teammates and fans, Lamar’s absence would send our bench into disrepair—we would be like the Cavaliers of last season and have to force our stars (Kobe, Pau, and now Artest) into playing many, many 40+ minute games. Give the man his fourth-year and a team-option fifth-year (like Miami’s offer) and we can watch another Lakers dynasty begin.
 

Too much throwing under the bus just because it’s taking awhile for negotiations to play out.

Lamar Odom is the best 6th man in basketball.

A generation ago it was John Havlicek. He came off the bench for the Celtics, and could easily have started.

It’s the same with Odom. Like Lamar, Havlicek played starter’s minutes and was a key component in winning. He relished the role, even though he would have been the number 1 or 2 option on almost any other team.

Odom is one of the most feared players in the NBA, because of the matchup issues and what he can bring on any given night. I think he takes pride in that, and I don’t believe he cares about being the main guy (or number 2) any more.

Do you think Odom would have received this much ink — digital or otherwise — as a number 2 option — as the 8th or 12th best number 2 in the league?

He’s right now the most effective player in his current capacity as 6th man. Much more powerful than being a good number 2.

His agent knows it. Lamar knows it. Buss/Kupchak know it, too.

This would b so stupid the Lakers already let Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest which was a mistake and then they r going 2 give up there 6th man(top bench player) Lamar Odom to the Heat this is insane without him they will not have a shot at a repeat if the lakers want another title they need Odom and every baseketball fan knows this

Dwyane Wade tweets:

“I’m in LA to bring odom bac to miami with me lol lol lol. LA fans dnt get mad at me..”

http://twitter.com/dwadeofficial/status/2864287304

I don’t know why you don’t get this.

If Bynum could stay on the active roster then — yes — Odom is less of a necessity. IF.

Should he go down again and Odom is in Miami, then the Lakers are down the drain. The bench is very weak without Odom. Starter minutes will skyrocket if Bynum isn’t available.

By the time the playoffs come around, it’s likely that Bryant, Gasol, and Artest will have far less in the tank than their competitors. You can’t win playoff basketball without a healthy contribution from your bench.

Without Odom, I see the Lakers seeded somewhere between 3 and 5. Just getting to the West finals will be a major accomplishment — but they won’t win it.

It wouldn’t matter. Anybody coming out of the East would run them off the court. Every one of those contenders would be deeper than L.A.

Talks with the Lakers resume and Buss lowers his offer to Odom…Odom contacts media to post his “intent” to sign with Miami to force L.A. to come back with the last offer or a higher one…agents and players do it all the time but Lamar is pushing his luck here.

I, for one, am sick and tired and frankly just pissed off at Lamar for pulling this crap on the team that got him a ring and to the fans that have made him the popular player he is today. I wish he would go to Miami so he can go sit in the sun and stay in obscurity for the rest of his career already. Even if he does come back to L.A., I’ve lost so much respect for him that I just don’t care for him anymore.

JUST GO TO MIAMI ALREADY AND LET US GET BACK TO ENJOYING OUR CHAMPIONSHIP STATUS. WITH OR WITHOUT YOU, WE’RE GOING TO CONTEND AND POSSIBLY WIN IT ALL FOR YEARS TO COME.

how important it is to have backup big men. Big’s tire easier than guards and so require more rest and yes, are also more prone to injury as well. It’s the reason the Magic wanted to throw a bunch of money so they could keep the core of Howard, Lewis, and Gortat.

Imagine it’s not Bynum who goes down though, imagine it’s Pau. Then I think we’d quickly look back on all this “Let Odom gtfo” talk a little differently.