In this trade dream between the Lakers, Rockets and New Orleans Hornets. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom would have gone in order for the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul. Odom to NoLa and Gasol to the Rockets. Not to be whatever, but I get that trades occur all the time, players that we love are there one minute and gone the next (hello Shaq, Burress, Holmes...) the list could go on and on. The problem as pointed out by Odom is that there was no conversation by the Lakers regarding the trade.
I know that I really have no clue what goes on in the front office, but something that becomes a pain in the butt watching the sports you love is when the detach human emotion out of business transactions. I think that any player would be foolish to hold on to this idea that there will NEVER be a possibility that a) the team would keep them forever or b) that they wouldn't want to leave at some point. I know that for some athletes the dream of retiring with the team you have learned to call family is important, but when it comes down to it it's a business. However, no person should EVER be treated like a bottom line, especially such high profile players and key contributors to the Lakers like Gasol and Odom. Odom's beef with the Lakers organization was that he was never told about the trade, he caught wind of it the same way we did, through the rumor mill - the media. How fair is that? It's disrespectful, rude and ungracious. Odom was just voted the 6th Man of the Year- that is a big deal. Gasol and Odom were amazing when we won our last championship, it's disappointing and frustrating to know that your team is responsible for making them feel like crap.
So what happened? The deal to get Chris Paul fell through, Odom and Gasol were to report to a team that they knew now on some level didn't want them. Report to training camp when you know you are the ugly stepchild?! Odom reported to training late and then didn't practice. People say Odom has no heart- would you under those circumstances? They tell him that he should suck it up, but I think that he is right to be angry. Not that I expect new Coach Mike Brown to step up and make peace with his players--especially when he is trying to create some balance in the transition, but the point is that someone should have made the call. At least given Odom a heads up.
So here we are, no Chris Paul deal and Odom feeling hurt and disrespected (rightly so, in my opinion). So Odom officially asks the Lakers for a trade, if they were going to do it to get someone like Chris Paul, then they can do it to get any whack person, or in this case a Draft Pick. Odom wanted a trade and is now going to be suited up with the Dallas Mavericks- what worse team could he have gone to. One of our big competitors, but at the end of the day, Odom has to go somewhere where he feels wanted. I don't know if I agree with all the comments that are being made by commentators and fans, but I do agree with Odom, human capital and morale is what makes a company rich, when you basically take a dump on part of your capital, that doesn't make for high morale.
I will always respect Odom in the purple and gold or not. Best of luck in the new season.
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