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Bench Warmer
Kobe Bryant will be back, but two big pieces of the Lakers' championship team likely won't be.
The team has pulled its offer to forward Lamar Odom, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday night. Citing a team official who was not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations, the newspaper reported that owner Jerry Buss was upset that Odom and his representatives had not responded to the team's offer of three years at $9 million per season. Odom and his agent Jeff Schwartz have reportedly been seeking a five-year deal at $10 million per season.
The newspaper reported that Odom has been in negotiations with the Mavericks and Heat, two teams that can only offer their mid-level exceptions of $5.8 million per season for a maximum of five years.
Bryant chose to not opt out of his contract this offseason and will likely receive a long-term extension. Key reserve Trevor Ariza bolted the Lakers for the Rockets, however. The Lakers responded by signing former Rocket Ron Artest.
Odom, 29, was expected to take a pay cut from his $14.1 million salary of last season. He has averaged 15.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for his career, but he set career lows in scoring (11.3) and assists (2.6) last season. He did average 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in the playoffs to help the Lakers to their 15th championship.
The team has pulled its offer to forward Lamar Odom, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday night. Citing a team official who was not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations, the newspaper reported that owner Jerry Buss was upset that Odom and his representatives had not responded to the team's offer of three years at $9 million per season. Odom and his agent Jeff Schwartz have reportedly been seeking a five-year deal at $10 million per season.
The newspaper reported that Odom has been in negotiations with the Mavericks and Heat, two teams that can only offer their mid-level exceptions of $5.8 million per season for a maximum of five years.
Bryant chose to not opt out of his contract this offseason and will likely receive a long-term extension. Key reserve Trevor Ariza bolted the Lakers for the Rockets, however. The Lakers responded by signing former Rocket Ron Artest.
Odom, 29, was expected to take a pay cut from his $14.1 million salary of last season. He has averaged 15.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for his career, but he set career lows in scoring (11.3) and assists (2.6) last season. He did average 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in the playoffs to help the Lakers to their 15th championship.
