Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom might be leaving town for good according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports;
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.
This may come as a surprise to the rest of the NBA as all speculation and gossip around the league has been leaning towards the expectations that Odom would return to the Lakers. There is no denial that the Lakers would greatly suffer from the loss of Odom’s versatility and unselfish play on the court, but his off-season behavior has raised more than a few eyebrows in the Lakers community.
Once and future teammates?
One thing we have learned from the Los Angeles fans is their willingness to forgive and forget. From movie stars to goofy left fielders the Los Angeles faithful are willing to push the past aside if it means winning in the present. While Odom is coming off a season where he was an integral part of a championship team his current behavior is starting to rub fans the wrong way as speculation begins to build that he is using the media and even the Heat as leverage to get himself a more lucrative contract with the Lakers.
As a collective group fans, do not like to be taken for emotional rides when it comes to contract disputes, now on an icy Christmas day in Boston drama is appreciated but that is beside the point. Generally, once it becomes apparent that the player is more about the money than the team the fans begin to grumble. As fans we like to believe that players do it for the glory instead of the money but the business side of sports rears its ugly head far too often.
However, today the basketball world is in the same place it was yesterday and probably will be tomorrow, waiting for Odom to decide whether to come back to Los Angeles or depart for Miami. If the money is right then a return to Los Angeles and the Lakers is still a possibility, but every day that passes without an agreement between the two inches the door open a little more for another team to swoop in and land the 6’10″ forward and leave the Lakers scratching their heads.
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