Lakers, Clippers monitor Lamar Odom for possible signing
Lamar Odom averaged a career low in points last season but appeared in all 82 games for only the third time in his 14 years in the NBA. (Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images)
The Lakers and Clippers could each be making a run at bringing back free agent forward Lamar Odom.
According to a report Thursday from Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, both teams are monitoring the progress of their former player as he works to move past his recent personal and legal troubles, and the front office at each club is reportedly interested in seeing the 34-year-old play for them at some point this season.
The two-time NBA champion has reportedly been training again with the hopes of returning to the league after the All-Star break in February. The Lakers and Clippers have only had basic conversations with Odom at this point, simply to check up on his personal well-being, according to Stein and Shelburne.
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Beginning this past summer, Odom made headlines because of a downward spiral that included reports that he checked out of a rehab facility after one day for crack-cocaine use and a DUI charge in September for an incident in California that took place in August. During that same time period, it had been reported that Odom purchased $16,000 worth of cocaine in a single month earlier this year, and there were conflicting reports of him having gone missing.
The Clippers have one spot left on their 15-man roster while the Lakers are currently at the 15-man max, with partially guaranteed or unguaranteed minimum contracts given to Elias Harris, Xavier Henry, Ryan Kelly and Shawne Williams.
Odom is two years removed from being named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Besides playing in Los Angeles, Odom spent a year in Miami playing for the Heat in the 2003-04 season and a forgettable season with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011-12 in which he averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in only 50 games and clashed with the front office.
Last season, the versatile forward returned to the Clippers, the team that selected him No. 4 overall in the 1999 draft, and averaged a career low four points and 5.9 rebounds.
