If you’ve been paying any attention to sports news lately, you know that the Lakers’ frontcourt will look quite different next season.
Obviously, the biggest difference will be at center, where Pau Gasol will likely start and Chris Kaman will play a reserve role; as opposed to a frontcourt which boasted Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol prior.
Another change will be the departure of Earl Clark, who played a significant role for the Lakers starting mid-season last year, as well as Antawn Jamison, who likely won’t return to the Lakers.
Although the backcourt depth was suspect last season, the talent and depth in the front court was quite impressive when you add Jordan Hill to the mix.
Now, the Lakers have the challenge of trying to once again establish what has been their biggest advantage over most teams since 2008–their size.
My biggest concern about free agency initially was the need to shore up depth in the back court to ensure that Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash have adequate rest during the season (and enough scoring and defense at the start of the season to help offset Bryant’s recovery from a torn Achilles).
With Dwight Howard gone, though, the Lakers need to add depth all around to compensate.
As mentioned earlier, the Lakers added Chris Kaman to the mix and still have Jordan Hill, but have also reportedly shown interest in Lamar Odom, which in my view, could be a solid pickup.
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Obviously, at age 34, Odom is likely not the same player he was a few years ago when he helped the Lakers win two championships or garnered the Sixth Man Of The Year award in 2011.
However, he could still be a sensible pickup for the Lakers.
For one, the Lakers are extremely limited after still being above the salary cap even without the re-signing of Dwight Howard, and just used their mini-midlevel exception on Kaman.
Now all they have are veterans’ minimum contracts to throw out.
Last season, the Lakers were able to lure Antawn Jamison into taking that veterans’ contract in hopes of winning a championship.
This upcoming season, however, won’t have that same lure following a lackluster season and the departure of the Lakers’ hopeful future center.
At the same time, Odom is coming off of a season in which he averaged just 4.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in under 20 minutes per game with the Clippers.
With the Clippers unlikely to offer him a large contract coupled with the fact that we all know how much Lamar loves living in L.A., bringing the versatile forward back into a purple and gold uniform could very well be feasible–and fruitful for both the Lakers and Lamar.
There’s no question that L.O. had his best seasons as a Laker, and winning two championships will undoubtedly be the highlight of his career, so maybe he will let bygones be bygones when it comes to the Lakers’ front office and once again suit up for the Lakers.
Next up is how it could work for the Lakers.
Next Page: How It Could Work
When you lose the leading rebounder in the league, you need to find ways to compensate for that. If there’s one thing that Odom knows how to do well, it’s rebound. He’s already a career 8.4 rebounds per game type of player, but when asked to focus on rebounding the ball, he does it quite well with his agility and length.
Additionally, Odom’s defense has always been solid. He’s never been known as a shot-blocker or a defensive force, but his defense was crucial to the Lakers’ deep playoff runs in the sense that he guarded multiple positions from shooting guards to forwards and even centers at times.
Offensively, he’s a guy that can handle the ball, stretch the floor a bit, and pass extremely well.
Not to mention that he and Pau Gasol have a great chemistry on the court together, and seemed to elevate each others games quite a bit during the time they spent playing together.
In fact, when the Lakers won those two championships, it was usually Odom and Gasol finishing games instead of Gasol and Bynum.
Then there’s the fact that he’s one of the few players out there who has Kobe Bryant’s full respect and confidence. When you win a title alongside Bryant, you earn the Black Mamba’s respect and praise. Additionally, Kobe has always vouched for Odom and although Lamar was often the locker room’s most popular player and the one who kept everyone loose, he was never criticized for “goofing off” or joking too much, as Dwight Howard was. Odom brings a certain attitude and is willing to stick up for himself and his teammates when necessary; a mentality and edge that is needed on any successful team.
Back to basketball stuff though.
A big problem for the Lakers over the last few years has been other players besides Kobe Bryant that can create their own shot. Nash certainly helped with that last season, but Odom can still do that. We all know he’s not going to look to shoot the ball much, but he definitely has the ability to get his offense going when needed.
Many may be concerned with Odom’s age or the low stats he’s put up since leaving the Lakers, but let’s consider the numbers he last put up with the Lakers: 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists on 53.0 percent shooting from the field (a career high), and 38.2 percent shooting from three-point land (also a career high).
That was just two seasons ago, and Odom’s diminishing numbers have likely been the result of his mental state (mainly in Dallas) and his lack of use (mainly on the Clippers).
If he were to re-join the Lakers, he probably won’t average anything close to what he did in the 2010-2011 season, but I’m sure he still has some of that left in him and will have an opportunity to showcase some of that.
That brings me to another point, which if Lamar was weighing his options between the Lakers and Clippers, could sway him in direction of the Lakers.
On the Clippers, Lamar will get a chance to play for a team that’s still on the rise and has a great coach at the helm in Doc Rivers, along with the league’s premier point guard in Chris Paul. However, the Clippers are already extremely deep, and Odom likely won’t play much more than the 20 minutes he did last season. With the Lakers, although he’d have to share minutes with Jordan Hill, he’d still probably get more playing time and be more involved in the offense.
Next Page: How Will He Fit Into Mike D’Antoni’s Offense?
As for Mike D’Antoni’s offense? Well, Lamar absolutely thrived in Phil Jackson’s Triangle offense, but I believe he could be effective in D’Antoni’s as well.
D’Antoni likes the idea of a stretch four, and although Lamar isn’t the best shooter, his versatility and ability to do so many things on the court can be an asset for the system. Essentially, Odom is able to operate from farther away from the basket than Pau Gasol was last season when D’Antoni tried to have him do that. Also, as stated earlier, Odom and Gasol have a strong chemistry and Odom was often the guy who was able to bridge the ball from the back court into the post–which was another problem the Lakers faced at times last season.
Many of you may still be worried about Odom’s potential at this juncture of his career, but I’m still willing to bet that he’ll still be quite productive.
Lamar has never been a player who has relied on his athleticism or speed, but rather on his skill level. Basically, at age 34, he’s physically not a whole lot different than he was when he was 30; his game has always been smooth instead of flashy or hyper-athletic.
Is he the type of athletic specimen the Lakers so desperately use right now? Not at all, but the Lakers are hard-pressed to find someone like that in this free agent season.
However, Odom is a pass-first type of player, which is always welcomed on a team, and no player is quicker than the ball when it comes to offense versus defense.
Delving more into the offense, although Mike D’Antoni eventually gave in to posting the ball more frequently as opposed to running pick-and-rolls to death towards the end of the season, he’ll still want to run some pick-and-rolls.
Where Odom fits into that is the fact that he can both create and finish on pick-and-roll plays; he can play on both sides of those.
Oh, and I’m sure that D’Antoni will love the fact that Odom can rebound and push the ball in one swoop.
Back to the passing, though. Can you imagine the type of half-court passing display that can be put on with the likes of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol on the floor together?
Defensively, Odom’s length can still be used on the likes of quick guards all the way down to tall centers.
Perhaps the biggest selling point on both sides, however, is simple: Familiarity.
Odom has played alongside Kobe and Pau, won with them, and the group knows each others’ respective game and tendencies.
They also get along well off the court, which seems to be a huge factor in decisions like this, as of late.
At the core of it all, it’s a move that would likely be welcomed by the players, coaches, management, and the fans.
That’s enough of what I think, though. What do you all think? L.O. or no?
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