Lamar Odom’s time with the Dallas Mavericks is over, and it ended with a confrontation with owner Mark Cuban.
There have been plenty of rumors about what happened, from talk of a fight with Dirk Nowitzki to rumors about drug use. None of those have been confirmed. Cuban told ESPN his side of the story.
According to Cuban, it started after Odom showed up late to a Friday home game and to a team meeting in Memphis. At halftime of the Memphis game, Cuban says he questioned Odom’s commitment. “And I just asked him, does he want to go for it or not? Is he in or is he out?” Cuban said. “I think he thought we were playing poker. I just didn’t get a commitment. And that was the end.” Cuban says Odom responded angrily and kept telling him to “quit playing games.” The Mavs sent him home for the rest of the season.
Dirk didn’t want to pile on. “There’s nothing to say. It’s over,” he said. He added that things didn’t work out the way anyone hoped, Odom included, and that he wasn’t going to bash a former teammate.
The fallout has hit the stores too. TMZ reports that Odom’s Mavericks jerseys have been marked down from $110 to $89.99, and then again to $44.99. Even at half price, they aren’t moving.
It’s a rough ending for the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, who never seemed comfortable in Dallas after being traded from the Lakers. Hopefully a fresh start next season gets Lamar back to the player we know he can be.
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