[BasketballGuru24Participant]

The Los Angeles Lakers have pulled their offer to Lamar Odom off the table, the L.A. Daily News reported on its website late Tuesday night.

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Odom, 29, averaged 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in 23 playoff games as the Lakers captured the NBA title this past season.

The Lakers gave Odom the option of accepting $30 million for three seasons or $36 million for four years, the Daily News reported. Odom declined both offers.

The newspaper said Lakers owner Jerry Buss is believed to be irritated that Odom’s agent has started negotiations with the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat, neither of whom can offer the versatile forward more than the mid-level exception ($5.8 million for next season).

Lakers spokesman John Black declined to comment, except to confirm the Lakers have pulled the offer to Odom.

Only the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder have sufficient room under the salary cap to sign Odom to the sort of deal he has demanded from the Lakers. So far, neither team has shown interest in signing Odom

The 6-10 power forward finished his fifth season with the Lakers, following four seasons with the L.A. Clippers (1999-2003) and one season with the Miami Heat (2003-04).

During his 10-year career, the University of Rhode Island product averaged 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds a game.

[dwat4444Participant]

He declined 30 million for 3 years? That’s just stupid on his part.

[BasketballGuru24Participant]

He Is playing hard to get

[jojososaParticipant]

Is way to inconsistent to earn 10 mill a year but he did do well in tha finals and that’s about it

[BasketballGuru24Participant]

Ya I Know the lakers actually offered him more then i was expecting….he had a sub-par season and should should be seeing max 8 mill a year

[dwat4444Participant]

Is he expecting more from a diffierent team?

[BasketballGuru24Participant]

Only portland and OKC can beat that , and both don’t really want to waste money on a guy like that

[dwat4444Participant]

If either of those teams pay him more I’m going to kill myself….

[ckowalskiParticipant]

I don’t think it’s so much about the money as the respect for Odom. He was a valuable piece to a championship team and he pretty much made their entire bench decent. He allowed them to rotate in 3 near 7 footers in the frontcourt and kill teams with size. The Lakers just aren’t showing him respect. They are handling this offseason poorly but it hasn’t affected them yet. First they low-balled Ariza and he walked to a team that did show him respect. I know what you’re going to say, well they got Artest and he’s much better. You’re right they did get Artest and you’re right he is better, but Ariza works in that system and you don’t know if Artest will. After he learned Yao was out he fell into L.A.’s lap anyway, and if that situation was different there is a legit chance LA could have lost Ariza for nothing. Ariza’s agent has blame in this situation too because he also handled the situation badly but the point is the Lakers offered Ariza the same deal 29 other teams would have offered him so he walked. Now you give Artest a 5 year deal and you can’t offer Odom more than 3 years? After he helped you win a championship? That just seems like poor management IMO.

[d-grizzlyParticipant]

If i was odom and i knew that by joining the lakers for 3 years for 30 million with a garunteed chance of 2-3 rings…I’d take the offer.

punk is just greedy greedy greedy.

[dwat4444Participant]

Respect? I’d feel pretty damn respected if I was offered 10 million f’n dollars to play basketball!!!!

[Mr. BasketballParticipant]

he wants years not money. lakers don’t get that. he wants security coming off a good year.

[ckowalskiParticipant]

exactly, it’s not about the money.

[bluedevils12Participant]

ima a laker fan and to me this is very annoying. both sides meanin lamars camp and th elakers organization need 2 put away thier egos and get this job done.i mean i feel the lakers should get this done seeing as a lot of teams are loading up on talent and lamar was a key piece to wat the lakers did last year. lamar should jus take watever contract and play ball

[doubledribblerParticipant]

Odom needs to make sure his priorities are straight and that his agent is representing him correctly. As far as I am concerned every person has the right to make as much money as someone is willing to pay them. Even if they are getting paid large sums of money to play a kids game. Entertainment is a very lucrative career in general in this country.

No one is griping at Kobe or any other guy for not opting out of their deals to take less money to help sign the other guys. Realistically, if I have the choice between one place that is paying me $10 an hour and a place down the street paying me $20 an hour for the same job, I’m going to have a hard time passing that over.

With that said, with all the money that Odom has made, he doesn’t really need THAT much extra security. If you aren’t secure after spending years of making millions and tens of millions of dollars, then you will never be financially secure. As far as Artest is concerned, he was probably given 5 years because he came at a nice discount. I think the Lakers would do the same with Odom if he was willing to get paid like Artest.

[dwat4444Participant]

I think 5 years at 42 million sounds like a good deal for Odom and L.A.

[ckowalskiParticipant]

Odom is worth more to that team than Artest is (at this point), so they should treat him like it. I think it is a general consensus on this site (maybe I’m wrong though) that the difference between the Lakers being a Finals lock for the next 3 years or so as opposed to being an also ran is re-signing Odom.

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