NBA Trade Rumors: Lamar Odom Reportedly Heading To Dallas Mavericks

The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly pulled out of the three-team deal that would've netted them Chris Paul, instead opting to send one piece in the reported trade, Lamar Odom, to the Dallas Mavericks. Odom was all set to be dealt to the New Orleans Hornets as part of a three-team deal for Paul that also included the Houston Rockets. Instead, it appears Odom will be heading to Dallas, slotting into the Mavericks' trade exception.

The report comes from ESPN's Marc Stein.

So to recap: Lakers take Odom out of three-team CP3 deal and deal him to Mavs into new DAL trade exception created in Tyson Chandler deal. Sources say Lakers will receive unspecified draft considerations from Dallas for the rights to Odom, who slots in Mavs' new trade exception.

It was also confirmed by Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Mavericks acquired the trade exception by way of a three-team deal involving Tyson Chandler on Saturday.

One can take a guess at why Los Angeles is sending Odom away -- a near-necessity after the Chris Paul ordeal -- but the consensus seems to be the Lakers are setting themselves up to make a deal for Dwight Howard.

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Steve Nash comes clean on gay NBA player issue

 
Steve Nash, the Sun star point guard, said he does not believe an NBA player disclosing his sexual orientation as gay would turn into a big issue any more. Nash talked to the New York Times and stated that the admission by a NBA player to being a gay would be astonishingly understood and accepted.
It is pertinent to note that the subject of homosexuality took the center stage when the Suns’ CEO “Rick Welts” emerged out of the secret at the start of this month.
“If a player in the locker room came out, it would come and go quickly, too. I really don’t think it’s a big issue anymore. I think it would be surprisingly accepted, and a shorter shelf life than maybe we would imagine. I think the time has come when it should happen soon. I think it will be something that won’t take on this life of its own. It won’t be the O. J. trial,” Steve Nash told the Times when asked if the NBA is prepared to welcome a candidly gay player.
The comment of Nash reverberate the remarks by Charles Barkley, who recently put forward the thought that professional players may be additionally tolerant of a candidly homosexual teammate that many would reflect.
“It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say, ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy,’” Barkley said. “First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play,” he added.
Meanwhile Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, both the NBA stars, have demonstrated their support for the Vancouver Canucks in their pursuit to take home the Stanley Cup.
The controversies surrounding homosexuality in sports has lately turned into a hot subject. Homophobic smears by coaches and players have been escorted by loads of off-putting hype and roughly triggered a united shore up for the homosexual community.
People may argue that the likes of Kobe Bryant, Roger McDowell and Joakim Noah did not mean for expressions to hold abhorrence towards homosexuals, but their deeds showed they are short of knowledge about a sensitive matter.
The opinion of Steve Nash has been warmly embraced and welcomed by the gay community. The gay community holds that Nash is apparently speaking for and representing a lot of people.

Lamar Odom says he will start

 
Lamar Odom said at the team's shootaround on Friday that he will start at small forward in place of Ron Artest, who is suspended for one game following his late hit to the face of Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea in Game 2.
"I'll try to fill another role," said Odom.
The news comes as a surprise considering the Lakers used the lineup of Odom, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum on the court together for less than three total minutes during the regular season.
"I don't think it will be much of an adjustment," Odom said of the frontcourt that would run 6-foot-10, 7-foot, 7-foot with him, Gasol and Bynum. "We all know how to play basketball. We'll try to make the floor as small as possible. Make them beat us over the top [on defense].
"Usually that's not how we've played ... but we all know each other and we've played with each other and we know what to expect. We'll just go out and try to win a basketball game at this point."
Said Gasol: "It's not a lineup that is used regularly or often; only in need. I guess we are in need now."
The Lakers trail the Mavericks 2-0 in the second-round series.
While Odom would be listed at small forward, he would play more of a guard's role on offense when paired on the court with Kobe Bryant, allowing Bryant to attack from the wing.

With Fourth-Quarter Rally, Mavericks Push Jackson and Lakers to Brink

DALLAS — Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant share not only five Lakers championships, but also splits, make-ups, power struggles, reinventions and redemptions.
It is fitting that Jackson’s final postseason would encounter bumps, that another hurdle to be crossed awaited him, Bryant told Jackson Friday morning.
Jackson then offered a distinction. “But it’s not me crossing it,” he said before the third game of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks. “It’s the team.”
Jackson is perhaps mentally preparing for what is likely his final separation between himself and the Lakers. The Mavericks shoved Jackson one loss further toward retirement and the two-time defending champion Lakers one loss closer to playoff elimination by administering a 98-92 loss to them on Friday.
Dirk Nowitzki has proved unguardable in the series and replicated his performance from the first two games by delivering 32 points on Wednesday. His five-footer with 1 minute 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter broke a tie and cemented another Lakers collapse.
Lamar Odom, who started in place of the suspended Ron Artest, missed a jumper on the Lakers’ possession. The Dallas reserve Jason Terry, who scored 23 points, latched onto Peja Stojakovic’s miss and was fouled by the Lakers’ Derek Fisher. He went to the free-throw line and iced the win with two free throws and 18 seconds remaining.
The Lakers again played the final moments disorientated and disorganized and are now in disarray. They left 3-point shooters open and often failed to drive the lane in a game they could have won. Bryant did not seize control of the contest and finished with 17 points on 13 shots.
No N.B.A. playoff team has ever rallied from the 3-0 playoff deficit now facing the Lakers. The Mavericks can shut the door on Jackson’s coaching career — which includes six championships in Chicago — by winning Sunday’s Game 4 here and gaining the Western Conference finals.
For the Lakers, it looks like a stunning drop from the N.B.A.’s top tier. They have played in the last three N.B.A. finals. Despite wavering at times this season, many expected them to return there again, offering Jackson a proper sendoff. When Jackson decided to return last summer, he said in a statement: “It’ll be the last stand for me, and I hope a grand one.” He has not questioned that decision throughout the course of the season.
The Lakers allowed Dallas to erase an 8-point lead in the fourth quarter with two 3-point shots from Stojakovic and one from Nowitzki. Nowtizki’s free throws provided Dallas a lead for the first time in the second half, 88-87, with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter. Bryant again had miscues that cost the Lakers late by turning the ball over with 3:23 left and missing a 23-foot jumper in the Lakers’ next possession.