Improvement for Odom

The Lakers beat Sacramento 94-89 in Sunday’s exhibition with Lamar Odom not playing starter (for the first time since ninth grade). Odom, who had four points and nine rebounds as a reserve, offered an interesting interview to the L.A. Times before the exhibition. Odom surprisingly seemed at peace with his reserve status and even apologetic for recent anti-establishments remarks he has made. Odom and Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson have been at war in recent weeks, with Jackson publicly questioning Odom’s playing at the Lakers’ annual media day.

Odom told the Times it was his “alter-ego talking” last month, saying “Seriously. That’s Odom. Not Lamar. I’m being dead serious. I’m a good locker-room dude. I don’t want to be detrimental to the team, especially, like, how this is a championship-caliber team.” Split personality aside, Odom appears to be returning to the former friendliest Laker, who once dropped $40,000 during training camp to feed his teammates every day in Honolulu. Odom’s camp was refused a contract extension during the summer, with the Lakers choosing to defer until the end of the season, and there may not be a lot of money left over with a raise in the wings for Bynum and Bryant either opting out of his contract or re-signing at a higher price. To see the full article go to the L.A. Times website.

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