The Los Angeles Lakers have at last reached terms on a new contract with sixth man ,Lamar Odom after a month of frosty negotiations that might have troubled the team and its fans more than just about anything they saw during last season's playoff drive to the championship.
"I always wanted to come back because we won the championship," Odom told ESPN's Shelley Smith. "I'm playing for the biggest brand in the world. And I'm playing with the most fluid, talented center in the world in Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum's coming back and of course Kobe Bryant.
"But to now get an opportunity to play with Ron Artest, a guy I've known 16 years, it means a lot. I told Ron Ron a few weeks ago I couldn't walk away. I still had to fight. Every time negotiations didn't go the way I thought, I just took a step back, like them pulling the offer off the table, I just knew I had to fight."
Sources with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com that Odom and the Lakers on Thursday agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $33 million if the Lakers exercise their option on the fourth season. One source close to the process said that Odom will come away with a guaranteed $27 million from the new contract, matching the original value of the three-year, $27 million deal Lakers owner Jerry Buss pulled off the table earlier this month.
It's believed that the structure of the new contract calls for Odom to earn $25 million over the first three seasons, with the Lakers owing him a buyout of $2 million in the fourth year if they elect not to pick up their team option.
Team sources indicated that a sense of relief poured through the organization after word of the agreement spread, with Odom known to be giving serious consideration to leaving the team he helped last month to the 15th title in franchise history for a reunion with Pat Riley and Dwayne Wade with the Miami Heat.
Wade had been publicly lobbying for Odom to come "back home" for weeks. Limited in what it could offer as a team well over the salary cap, Miami was nonetheless prepared to give him a five-year deal worth $34 million with an option to return to free agency after four seasons or a four-year deal with a provision to go back on the open market after three years to try to negotiate a richer deal.
Read the full article at espn.com
J.A. Adande and Marc Stein are senior NBA writers for ESPN.com. ESPN's Shelley Smith contributed to this report.
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