Dallas Mavericks star forward Lamar Odom did not return to his team Tuesday after taking a leave of absence for unspecified “personal” reasons last week.
Odom, who was scheduled to return to the team after the All-Star break, was not in the Mavericks lineup for the NJ Nets vs Mavs game Tuesday night in Dallas. He also missed the previous game the Wednesday night before the break, against his former team the Lakers.
Speculation is running rampant about Odom’s future with the team. Coach Rick Carlisle and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have both refuted rumors of a possible buyout of Odom’s contract.
“I knew I’d get the question over and over again until I said I wouldn’t do it,” Cuban told the Washington Post, adding there hadn’t even been a discussion about a buyout. “We want him to contribute. We want him to help.”
Sources close to Odom’s camp told Sandrarose.com that Odom, a 13-year veteran, missed a game last week to re-shoot scenes for his reality show ‘Khloe & Lamar‘ on E!
Another NBA team that could be affected by the reality TV shooting schedule of one of its star players is the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cavs guard Daniel “Booby” Gibson is in the midst of filming his reality show, ‘Family First,’ starring him and his wife, R&B singer Keyshia Cole-Gibson. The show was picked up by BET and is on the July 2012 programming schedule.
“We’re proud,” Gibson told the News-Herald. “It got picked up. I want to wait until we finish the contract before we disclose (anything).”
Coach Byron Scott allowed the film crew to shoot footage of Gibson shooting around after practice on Monday.
“The reality show isn’t going to affect us,” Scott said. “They have to go around his schedule. It’s not going to affect what we do.”
