NBA 2008-2009 Season

[Dimmauk]

Lakers pull offer to Lamar Odom

Free agent Lamar Odom and his agent have been seeking $10 million for five years.

Jerry Buss is upset that the free-agent forward and his agent have not responded to Lakers' offer of $9 million a season.

By Broderick Turner

July 15, 2009
Lakers owner Jerry Buss, an avid poker player, called Lamar Odom's bluff at the negotiating table Tuesday, following through with his threat to pull the offer to Odom.

The Lakers admitted that the offer Buss presented to Odom and his representatives has been available for over a week, but that because the unrestricted free agent never responded, Buss grew upset and broke off all negotiations.


"Yes, we have taken the deal off the table," Lakers public relations director John Black said. "Talks have broken down for the time being."

Black was asked if talks could resume in the future.

"That's within the realm of possibility," he said.


Lakers team officials, who were not authorized to speak about the negotiations, said Buss offered Odom a deal for $9 million a season for four years at $36 million, or $10 million a season over three years for a total of $30 million.

Odom and his agent, Jeff Schwartz, were looking for $10 million a year over five seasons.

Neither Schwartz nor Odom could be reached for comment Tuesday.

Team officials also said Buss was not happy that Odom and Schwartz have been talking with the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat President Pat Riley about a deal, but have refused to talk to the Lakers.

The Heat and Mavericks can offer Odom only the mid-level exception of $5.8 million, but can give him a five-year deal up to $34 million.

Many in the Lakers' organization believe that Odom wants to accept Buss' offer -- and so do those close to Odom -- but he has failed to convince his agent.

If the two sides do begin negotiating again, Lakers sources said Buss, if he's willing to talk, will lower his offer to Odom.

Those same sources said Buss is a man of principle who sticks by his decision.

Those sources were mindful that when Shaquille O'Neal said during an exhibition game in Hawaii in 2003, "Now, you're gonna pay me," while looking for a contract extension, Buss was angry and never forgot that.

After the 2004 season, Buss traded O'Neal to the Heat, in a deal that brought Odom to the Lakers.

It was widely known that Odom, who will be 30 in November, would have to take a pay cut because of his age, the declining economy and the small number of teams that were far enough under the NBA salary cap to make a legitimate offer to him. He was on the Lakers' books for $14.1 million last season, the final year of a six-year, $63-million contract he signed with Miami in 2003.

But the Lakers felt as if they made a fair offer to Odom, Lakers sources said, and are baffled as to why he didn't accept it.

Now it might be too late to get a deal done.

Odom proved his worth during the Lakers' championship run in the playoffs by averaging 12.3 points, third-best on the team, and 9.1 rebounds, second-best on the team.

He averaged 32 minutes a game in the playoffs, a lot of it because center Andrew Bynum was either in foul trouble or ineffective.

In those cases, Pau Gasol moved to center, Odom came off the bench to play power forward and the Lakers were often a better team.

Odom was solid against Orlando in the NBA Finals, averaging 13.4 points and 7.8 rebounds. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds in Game 5 as the Lakers clinched the title with a 99-86 victory.



Come on Miami!!

[Stee]

He was offered 3 years for $30 million and 5 years for $45 mill, which his agent both turned away.

I could care less if he leaves now, that is way too much money to give a guy who appears only when he wants to.

In other news Adam Morrison is destroying the summer league right now, Powell and Morrison can be our bench mob...maybe.

[Dimmauk]

He was offered 3 years for $30 million and 5 years for $45 mill, which his agent both turned away.

I could care less if he leaves now, that is way too much money to give a guy who appears only when he wants to.

In other news Adam Morrison is destroying the summer league right now, Powell and Morrison can be our bench mob...maybe.

Adam does fit in with all the other crybabies on the Lakers.

[Stee]

lol you silly spurs fans, so irrelevant

[Dimmauk]

I cant wait till all the Laker Fakers crawl back under the rock you came from after the bandwagon ride is over. Enjoy that championship this summer, cause you wont get another for a long time.

[Devia]

Wow, I just realized something very cool. Since my team won it all, Dimmy's trolling no longer has any effect on me. What a relief.

[Dimmauk]

Wow, I just realized something very cool. Since my team won it all, Dimmy's trolling no longer has any effect on me. What a relief.

LOL, I need to try harder.

[TummieGaruda]

I cant wait till all the Laker Fakers crawl back under the rock you came from after the bandwagon ride is over. Enjoy that championship this summer, cause you wont get another for a long time.

Going back to when the NBA was first established, if you average the titles the Lakers have won for every year the NBA has been around, they win 1 every 3.93 years. The Lakers also have won at least 1-2 championships per decade with the exception of the 60's which belonged to the Celtics, and the 90's. Not saying the team is perfect as the Lakers have made it to the finals 30 times and lost 15, however as a franchise they are considered the most successful in the NBA. I know you are a Laker hater, and that's fine, but you can't deny their success.

[Dimmauk]

Going back to when the NBA was first established, if you average the titles the Lakers have won for every year the NBA has been around, they win 1 every 3.93 years. The Lakers also have won at least 1-2 championships per decade with the exception of the 60's which belonged to the Celtics, and the 90's. Not saying the team is perfect as the Lakers have made it to the finals 30 times and lost 15, however as a franchise they are considered the most successful in the NBA. I know you are a Laker hater, and that's fine, but you can't deny their success.

The Minneapolis Lakers dont count.

[TummieGaruda]

The Minneapolis Lakers dont count.

LOL how so? The ones from Minneapolis count towards the franchise total. There is a banner to the right of the Los Angeles Lakers individual title banners that is Blue and Gold that lists all the years that the Lakers won in Minneapolis. Still counts because it's still the same franchise, just a different city.

[Dimmauk]

So if the Celtics moved to a different city, that new city inherits those championships? If I was from Boston, I would still think those championship stay in Boston. Clean Slate if the team moves.

[Byrd]

So if the Celtics moved to a different city, that new city inherits those championships? If I was from Boston, I would still think those championship stay in Boston. Clean Slate if the team moves.

It depends on the arrangement when the team moves. The Cleveland Browns and Seattle Supersonics both had departure agreements with the towns they moved from to retain the name, team records, banners, retired numbers, etc. Most teams that move don't have this arrangement. I don't recall if the Baltimore Ravens and Oklahoma City Thunder also have copies of the banners or team records, but they obviously didn't keep the name.

If/when the Seattle Supersonics come back into existence, they will have a 1978 NBA championship banner hanging from their rafters. Does anybody know if the Thunder have a 1978 NBA championship banner hanging from their rafters? Or if the Baltimore Ravens have a .... hmmmm. Nevermind on that one.

[TummieGaruda]

So if the Celtics moved to a different city, that new city inherits those championships? If I was from Boston, I would still think those championship stay in Boston. Clean Slate if the team moves.

Not necessarily. If Boston were to move to a new city, the city inherits the new team. The championships belong to the franchise no matter what city they reside in. The Lakers won 10 championships in LA, and therefore those 10 are credited to LA, 5 were won in Minneapolis. As a whole which is what my original argument was, is that the franchise itself has won 15 titles. Where they play doesn't matter. This was a big controversy because when the Lakers moved to Los Angeles in the 60's, old Minneapolis players were upset because the organization didn't acknowledge the championships won in Minneapolis and their banner was just stored away. It wasn't until after the Lakers moved to Staples that they put up the banner showing the 5 titles in Minneapolis.

The Sacramento Kings have a title that they won under a different name when they played in Rochester. They were the Rochester Royals, but when they moved to Kansas they had to change their name because of the baseball team. So they changed it to Kings, and then later moved to Sacramento. The championship belongs to the franchise, however, they have no trophy to show for it. Back then before the 70's the team that won the trophy kept it for a year and had to forfeit the trophy to the team that won the next year.

[Dimmauk]

I thought the Lakers put those Minneapolis Laker title banners up so they could try to be like the Celtics. Seriously.

[TummieGaruda]

I thought the Lakers put those Minneapolis Laker title banners up so they could try to be like the Celtics. Seriously.

Nothing to do about that. The banners were stored away when they were playing at the Forum and old Minneapolis players were pissed because the organization wouldn't acknowledge them.

[Correction]

I cant wait till all the Laker Fakers crawl back under the rock you came from after the bandwagon ride is over. Enjoy that championship this summer, cause you wont get another for a long time.

I can't wait for the Spurs to lose half of their first 10 home games, again. LOL.

[Stee]

Spurs forward dumps fiancee on eve of wedding - FOX Sports on MSN

Spurs forward dumps fiancee on eve of weddingby Neel Shah and Jeane MacIntosh, New York Post

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Updated: July 15, 2009, 8:24 AM EDT 2 comments
Now that's a flagrant foul.

Former New Jersey Net star Richard Jefferson bailed on his stunning fiancee -- pulling the plug on his posh Manhattan wedding at the 11th hour without even alerting some of the guests, The New York Post has learned.
The cold-footed forward's decision to ditch onetime Net dancer Kesha Ni'Cole Nichols was so last-minute that some of his oblivious friends had already shown up last Saturday at the swank Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle for the $2 million wedding that never happened.


Top stories | Rumors | Video | Photos Jefferson — who was traded in June to the San Antonio Spurs — dumped Nichols just before the weekend, according to sources.

She immediately called her family and friends to say the ceremony was off.

But Jefferson waited much longer, his friends told The Post.

"He called about two hours before the wedding. It was nuts," said one Jefferson pal.

He never showed up at the hotel, but "all his boys were there," the friend said. "He gave his best friend the Black Amex (credit card) for the night."

Jefferson's guests made good use of the credit card to party on their pal's dime.






Nichols did check in to the hotel on what was to have been her wedding day, and was upgraded to a suite on the 45th floor with a king-sized bed and a Central Park view, according to a source at the Mandarin.

The would-be bride was stunned, but "not entirely caught off-guard," by Jefferson's unsportsmanlike conduct, according to a family friend.

"She just wants to keep this as quiet as possible and move on. She's doing just fine," a Nichols family insider said.

Neither Jefferson nor Nichols responded to requests for comment.

lol, breaking off a wedding on the day of with a e-mail to his fiancee that's just full of class.

[Dimmauk]

Jefferson should have just raped her and paid her off instead.
http://www.absolutenow.com/mugshots/...BryantKobe.jpg

[Dimmauk]

I'm sure when RJ got here, he noticed that the women are way hotter.

[Dimmauk]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...solCompare.jpg


LOL. And you think Duncan makes funny faces?


So what are the chances of the Lakers repeating with no LO?

Looks like he is going to Miami.