See the guy in the Lakers jersey above? His name is Lamar Odom. He's sort of like you and me. Except that he's one of the most talented basketball players on the planet.
He's widely considered one of the most versatile players in the NBA (in my opinion, he and Jason Kidd are tied for first). He can shoot, he can get to the rim, he can rebound, he can pass, he can take the load off of Kobe. I mean, if you're a Laker, this is the type of guy you want. Seriously, if we're going to play the Kobe as Michael Jordan game, Odom is Pippen. Odom could be a starter on any team, but instead he came off the bench last year. And he was cool with that.
He's due for a new contract. And Lakers owner Jerry Buss is really starting to irk me by not giving him one he deserves. Oh believe me, he got pretty good offers. It is reported there were two original offers: 9 million for four years or 10 million for three years. Not bad money by any stretch of the imagination. However, it's not enough to just throw the money at him. Make him feel wanted Buss. Odom is apparently considering a deal with the Miami Heat (6.8 million for 5 years). The guy's considering less money to play on a lesser caliber team... seriously, Buss, what the heck are you doing wrong that I'm even writing this post.
Come on. You know how important Odom is. The guy plays hard (and he's got the talent department covered too). He's no model of consistency, but few players have the talent he does. Ron Artest is nice, but he's no Lamar Odom. Yeah, Artest took you to 7 games without T-Mac or Yao, but come on. Odom. The guy who won't hog the ball and will take good shots. He's the Ying to Artest's Yang.
Seriously, Artest is nice. Awesome defense, pretty good offense. But he's no Odom, and unless you start playing the game right Buss, you're going to find out the hard way next year.
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