LO back in LA

I am tempting fate with my editors for my bias with the NBA team that radiates purple and gold as what I cheer, they jeer. However, I will risk their ire and be in a quagmire for this piece. This is just too good to pass up. I promise not to touch on my team until the new NBA season opens. Mor pa!

The feelings were mixed the past month in Los Angeles as to Lamar Odom’s return. Just wanting to win another title or two, according to him, made him re-sign with the Lakers. Officially, LO’s back in LA LA Land.

Claiming that he was unaware of the figures on the two offers presented to him (a 4-year, $36M deal and a 3-year, $30m deal), LO settled with a lesser contract worth $33M spread over four years.

Behind the drama-rama of the month-long, ego-fueled posturing, both sides have actually been silently negotiating. Throw in Pat Riley and Dwayne Wade in the mix, who were aggressively pursuing LO to return to Miami but with only $5.8M a season to offer. Waman gani sa $10M, kani pa?

LO admitted that by delaying his decision on the deals presented, he thought he could squeeze in a few more dollars. And this contradicts his claim that he didn’t hear of the two Laker offers presented to him. This delay irked team owner Jerry Buss who promptly yanked the deals off the table. LO then personally talked to Buss to explain his side. Eventually, Buss softened, saying that he mainly don’t want to shell out millions in luxury tax penalties necessary to re-sign him.

If LO had opted to go to Miami, the Lakers could only get a replacement at a veteran minimum and the options are almost non-existent. GM Mitch Kupchak had to move fast, and in fairness to LO during all that time, he was very patient and his desire to be a Laker eventually prevailed. Not taking anything personally helped him get through a tedious month.

In the wheeling and dealing of professional sports, agents are the ones actively working out for a deal. Since what they earn is taken from a certain percentage of the actual contract that the player they represent signs, more often than not, agents get greedy.

Jeff Schwartz, LO’s agent, probably realized that playing hardball with a championship team $20M over the salary cap will get them nowhere so they settled with an offer a bit lower than the two previous deals offered.

Deals are done without the players normally knowing what happened. They could wake up one morning, report to practice and only to discover that their lockers have been emptied and that they were dealt to another team overnight. In LO’s case, he woke up with a message saying, “You’re still a Laker.” Unaware that Schwartz had worked out a deal, he called his agent to confirm it.

To sum this all up, LO receives a big offer from the Lakers per year than any other NBA team can mainly because of league regulations, then he curiously went around shopping to see how much less ha can get from other teams. Kung di ni labad, I don’t know what else is.

So all’s well that end well? Let us not get our hopes up yet, Laker nation. LO is notoriously inconsistent, its almost normal. Take into account his games during the regular season. Then there was the playoffs. Against Houston, LO had a forgettable Game 4 performance, a 2-point, 25-minute exercise in futility. Then there were three games with Denver where he totaled 93 minutes and 20 points. Maybe his sugar cravings did all of this? But we all know that if he puts his mind and body into the game, it spells disaster to opposing teams.

There is also Ron Artest to consider. Yes, Ron and LO are friends since they were 12-year olds way back in New York playing basketball together, but Ron is crazy, bordering on the maniacal. Will he be content playing a support role? He was the top guy, or at least he thought he was, during his days at Houston and Sacramento and coming off the bench could just tweak his head. Let’s wait and see na lang.

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Belated birthday greetings to my former girlfriend, and now mother of my children, Denden. Also belated birthday greetings to the biggest sports editor, literally and figuratively, SAC ever had, Manny V. They both have yesterday, August 4 as their special day. Also, wedding bells will ring for Mayor Duke Frasco and Atty. Christina Garcia Codilla. They will officially enter the wild and woolly world of marriage on Saturday, August 8. Boss, according to Milton Berle, a good wife always forgives her husband when she’s wrong. And whenever you’re wrong, admit it, whenever you’re right, just shut up. Best wishes guys..!

E-mail me at [email protected] -  THE FREEMAN