Over the past week or so, the rumors surfaced of Odom’s return to Los Angeles with the Clippers, but it has been uncertain how the deal would get done until now.
Reportedly, the Mavs are attempting to trade Odom to the Clippers and will need a third team to get involved. That third team may very well be the Los Angeles Lakers. The three-team trade would send Mo Williams to the Lakers in exchange for the $8.9 million trade exception received in the deal for Odom last year according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com:
“Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that one team to express interest in Williams is the Los Angeles Lakers, who still have a trade exception big enough to absorb Williams’ contract that they created when they dealt Odom to Dallas.”
This proposed three-way trade would be a brilliant move for all three teams involved. The Lakers will be rid of the trade exception they’ve been sitting on since the Odom trade while bringing a veteran point guard without sending a player elsewhere or using the mini midlevel exception.
As for the Clippers and Mavs, Odom would help bolster their bench with another offensive weapon while Dallas can finally put the situation with the veteran forward behind them without worrying about a buyout or taking on the $8.2 million he’s owed for next season.
If this trade does go through, the real question for the Lakers moving forward is what to do with Ramon Sessions in free agency. Even with the acquisition of Williams, the Lakers may still sign Sessions long-term, but there’s a chance that Sessions may no longer want to stay in L.A. with another point guard on the roster that is worthy of the starting role.
At 29-years-old, Williams still has a lot of basketball left in him along with the desire to win a championship. Playing alongside Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum is something that will almost certainly intrigue Williams with the prospect of winning an NBA title with the Lakers on the horizon.
It’ll be interesting to see if there’s still some tension between Odom and Blake Griffin after a scuffle a few years ago in which both players were ejected. The tension will almost certainly disappear once they’re both wearing the same jersey if this deal goes through.
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