After disputing rumors that the Dallas Mavericks were sending forward Lamar Odom to the D-league, the Mavs and Odom have officially parted ways today.
“The Mavericks and I have mutually agreed that it’s in the best interest of both parties for me to step away from the team,” Odom said in a statement to ESPN.com.
The Mavericks will list Odom as inactive, meaning the team can trade Odom next season. The 32-year-old former LA Laker will be forced to sit out for the rest of this season.
Odom has a reputation for being a cry baby and a whiner. The 6 ft 10 in, 230 lb NBA forward dissolved into tears during a radio show interview after he was involved in a deal by the Lakers to send him to the league-owned New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul. That deal was nixed by the NBA commissioner. But Odom soon asked to be traded by the Lakers.
Insiders blame Odom’s private life for his woes on the basketball court.
Odom is married to the very dominant Khloe Kardashian, who quickly signed him up to shoot a reality show spin-off of her family’s popular reality franchise. Pressure from the reality show was partially blamed for Odom taking a leave of absence from the team soon after he arrived in Dallas.
