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Mitch Lawrence
Tuesday, November 30
Odom a Clipper for life? Don't bet on it
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com


NEW YORK -- It was hard to not burst out laughing when Clippers owner Donald Sterling started schmoozing with his star rookie, Lamar Odom, after the Clips defeated the short-handed Knicks the other day.

Lamar Odom
The Clippers really should try to keep Odom happy by keeping teammates.

With a handful of reporters present, the man who's considered the NBA's worst owner made it a point to congratulate Odom for telling him before the game that he had nothing to worry about, and that the Clips would win. With the Knicks missing Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson and Marcus Camby, Odom wasn't exactly going out on a limb. But it sounded so good to Sterling.

"I can't believe you told me that -- and you were right," Sterling said, beaming. "I'm going to believe in you, forever. And the rest of your life, you're going to play for me. I don't care if it costs $300 million. You'll have enough to buy three houses. Whatever it takes."

Ha. Ha. Ha.

As Sterling moved onto another part of the locker room, Odom remarked: "He better remember he said that. I'll hold him to it."

Don't bother, Lamar.

The Clippers' track record under Sterling, of course, is to screw up a good thing. In his 18 previous seasons as the team's sole owner, the Clips have made the playoffs only three times, never getting to the second round even once. He views players like one of his many buildings. The longer he holds onto them, the more they depreciate in value.

Clipper players well know his aversion to handing out long-term contracts. So they either leave via free agency, or get traded. So why should it be any different for Odom? Because if he winds up bolting in another few years, it could shape up as the biggest mistake of the Sterling regime. Odom already might have wrapped up the Rookie of the Year award, and we aren't even into December.

"Odom can be the next Magic Johnson," said Washington coach Gar Heard, whose team has lost to the Clips. "The thing that really impressed me is that he's always under control. Even late in the game, he's not panicking and putting up bad shots. You can't say that about too many rookies."

In L.A., some people are already saying that Odom has passed Kobe Bryant. To his credit, he laughs off all the praise. He certainly didn't get caught up in Sterling's little show for the media. Odom might only be 22 days this side of 20, but he sees where Sterling has decided to let Maurice Taylor walk at season's end, and has the same plan for Derek Anderson.

Odom has stated that if the Clippers lose both players, it won't make him very happy.

"This team wants to grow together," he said. "That's the goal. We see each other seven years down the road from now, and we'll still be pretty young and in our prime. I think if we keep this group together, the Clippers organization can turn it around."

As Donald Sterling might say, "Ha, ha, ha."

Rim Shots I
Is Phil Jackson ever happy that he turned down the Nets' $7-million-per-year job for the Lakers' post! The Zen Master isn't at all surprised that Jersey has started off 2-12, second-worst in the NBA, without Jayson Williams and Kerry Kittles.

"One of the reasons that I didn't take the job is because I thought there were some holes in their team that were going to be very difficult to make up," Jackson said. "In this game you've got to have your power players that close the lane up and don't let people penetrate with impunity. I think it's a team that's lacking the power players that are so important in this game."

Obviously, Jackson isn't very impressed with Jamie Feick, Jim McIlvaine or Michael Cage.

"(Keith) Van Horn is not really what I would consider a power forward," Jackson said. "He's a three-and-a-half. He's a very good player. But I'm talking about people who can close the lane, plug the lane, rebound. They've got to solve that problem of rebounding and finding a power player."

Williams isn't due back until perhaps mid-January, so they're not going to solve it very soon.

Rim Shots II
  • Patrick Ewing might wait until Sunday (vs. Denver at Madison Square Garden) before making his Knicks season debut. Starting Sunday, the Knicks begin a comfy stretch of 13 games over 31 days, and don't have to play a back-to-back games until Jan. 7-8. And of the five road games, one is at New Jersey and the other is against the Wizards.

  • Games of the Week: Wednesday: Charlotte at Portland. Huge test for Hornets. They're only 1-5 on the road, winning only at Orlando. Friday: Portland at Lakers. Payback time for Shaquille O'Neal. Blazers bombed the Lakers by 15 on Nov. 6 in Portland, with Shaq missing eight of 11 foul shots.

  • Detroit VP Rick Sund planned to sit with Lakers exec VP Jerry West at the Wooden Classic over the weekend. So Sund expected the rumors about the Pistons trading Grant Hill to L.A. to catch fire. But he was quick to deny that he'd talk trade with West, a frequent scouting companion over the years.

    "Grant is untouchable, just as he's always been," Sund said. "We won't trade him. If we lose him, we lose him."

    Just like they lost Allan Houston. If Hill announces that he's leaving Detroit -- something he isn't expected to do -- Sund says the Pistons still won't move him at the Feb. 24 trading deadline.

  • Shopping days: Atlanta is trying to get rid of Isaiah Rider, but only calling "a few, select teams," according to GM Pete Babcock. The Heat could wind up in the Rider Lottery before it's over.

  • The Celtics are trying to deal off Tony Battie and Pervis Ellison, as if anyone wants either.

  • The Wizards figure they can't move Rod Strickland, because another team will have to take on his $10 million contract, while Washington can only take back $7.5 million due to his "base-year compensation" status. "Hey, I want Rod to play for me," coach Gar Heard said. "I don't want to move him. The problem here has been having trouble buying into our program. Before, if you didn't want to practice here, you didn't have to. Now, you can't do that." Sounds like a real pro team.

  • Chris Gatling's agent has been calling around, looking for new home for the Magic forward. If he moves on, it will be Home No. 7.

  • The Rockets aren't breaking up their old-age home just yet. According to one GM who has talked to the Rockets, you can get Tony Massenburg, currently being shopped. But the Rockets aren't looking to move Charles Barkley or Hakeem Olajuwon. Probably because each is unmovable. Barkley makes $9 million this season, while Olajuwon is at $14 million this season and $17 million the next.

    Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.

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