Lamar Odom Wants to Return to Lakers

Lamar Odom Believes Lakers Want Him Back Lamar Odom cleaned out his locker Thursday and left the Lakers’ training facility, perhaps for the last time as part of the franchise that has employed him the last five years.  Odom will be an unrestricted free agent July 1, one of two forwards the Lakers hope to re-sign to keep their frontcourt intact.

The LA Lakers hope to sign both Ariza and Odom, but owner Jerry Buss will first have to evaluate how much to offer Odom, a non-starter on a championship team.  “I thought I did my job this year — come off the bench, do whatever it takes,” Odom said as players continued to have exit meetings with Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and General Manager Mitch Kupchak. “I had to play well and I played well. We had to win and we won. Hopefully, everything will just work out and I can stay home.”  “I think he’s done everything that was asked of him over the last five seasons, from playing small forward to point guard to power forward to coming off the bench,” said Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz. “And as much as he’s made it clear he wants to remain a Laker, it’s going to depend on their offer and what the market holds for him. The bottom line is, Lamar has shown he’s a winner and that’s valuable.”

During his exit meeting, Odom was asked to “stay in shape” during the off-season, he said. “They know I’m a socialite,” he said. “We win a championship, I’m 29, decent-looking. When we go out, I’m well-received, know what I’m saying? They want me to take care of myself and sleep correctly, stay in the weight room and stay strong. That’s a good sign. That means they want me back.”

Read the original article>  Source: Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times