Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban roots for under fire Lamar Odom – NBA Update
Lamar Odom’s 10 day absence while the Dallas Mavericks were in the process of playing 9 games in 12 days raised a lot of doubts about the sincerity of the forward and his future at the franchise.
However in the last couple of days, the dust pretty much seems to have settled down on the issue and on Tuesday, before the game with the New York Knicks, last season’s 6th man of the year, got the vote of confidence from the franchise owner, Mark Cuban.
In his first public comments on the issue, Cuban revealed that Odom had kept him in the loop throughout his absence and there is nothing extra ordinary going on behind the curtains;
"I'm not worried about that at all," He said.
He however did admit that there was a lot of concern in Mavericks camp with the players and team management wanting to know whether the 13 year pro was in or not. Cuban’s meeting with Odom was part of the process and he refuted the notion that his interference in the issue was out of line;
"Because you've got to deal with things," Cuban added. "The goal is to solve the problem, not to look good. I can't tell you how many times players have been concerned about other players. That's just the nature of the beast. As I said, I've been through it a lot of times. I've got to try to put together a plan and stick through it in those cases. That's exactly what I did."
The problem started when Odom decided to give the game against his old franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers, a miss citing personal reasons. He was supposed to return after the All-Star weekend, but failed to do so and in the four games defending champions played without him, there wasn’t a single favourable result.
Rick Carlisle, the Mavs coach, gave an indication of his frustration last Thursday after he publically said that the patience with Odom was wearing thin and the forward will have to prove that he is still committed. Odom’s case was not helped by the rumours that he wanted to buy out his contract and join the Los Angeles Lakers. However, as things panned out, Odom joined the team on Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz and after apologizing to his team-mates; he posted nine points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 18:03 minutes to help the Mavs snap a 4 game tailspin.
Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks talisman, put his weight behind Odom after the Jazz game and on Tuesday, Mark had his back;
"Is he here? Is he here? Is he here?" Cuban said. "He played great the first game back. He played not as well but well the second game back. He's done everything he asked. He was here early this morning shooting. That's in."
Tags: