On media day, Lamar Odom talked about retiring when his current contract expires after next season. On the first day of training camp, he walked off the court carrying a book, "Safe in the Arms of God, Truth from Heaven About the Death of a Child." In between, he said hearing his name in trade talks this summer was "hurtful." All of which suggests the biggest concern about Odom is a bit farther north than his twice-surgically repaired left shoulder.
Odom lost his six-month-old son Jayden last summer, an absence deepened by his wife and their two other kids deciding to spend this season in New York, their offseason home. "That means eight months not seeing my kids," he says. "That's why I like the idea of retiring and maybe just being a father."
His state of mind is understandable, even admirable, and there are few players in the league more personable. But considering the Lakers' margin of error this season and all the other potential pitfalls they will have to navigate just to make it back to the playoffs, Odom's distracted state is hardly encouraging.
