Report: Sixers, Lakers Talking Iggy-Odom Trade
CBSsports.com
Matt Moore
Right in time for draft day, the Andre Iguodala talks have come back around with a vengeance. And now they've merged with Lamar Odom being available to form a super-rumor that could destroy the Internet! Okay, not really. But they are out there. From SI:
The 76ers are continuing to explore trade options for Andre Iguodala, and league sources said that a deal with the Lakers involving Lamar Odom has been discussed recently. While it's unclear whether the deal has real potential or is still alive, it's yet another sign that the Sixers are determined to land an impact player while improving their salary-cap situation in any trade for their second-leading scorer and top defender.
via Sixers discuss trading Andre Iguodala to Lakers for Lamar Odom - Sam Amick - SI.com.
For starters, this is now the third Odom rumor in the past 24 hours, from the No.2 to Monta Ellis from Golden State to here. It's pretty clear the Lakers are shopping Odom aggressively, and getting involved with all the popular targets. Here's the Monta Ellis talks that died on the vine from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com:
A recent conversation between the Warriors and Lakers centered around Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown going to Golden State for Ellis, but those talks went nowhere, sources said.
via Draft Buzz: Monta, Odom, Rambis and more - CBSSports.com.
So now things have turned to Philadelphia and Igoudala, who is younger, not a space cadet, and a much better passer. Unfortunately, he's not as good. Odom had an outlier season at 31 years old. But even when you ignore the stats, where Odom is superior in every facet throughout his career barring assists, Odom has been more of a difference maker for the Lakers than Iguodala for the Sixers. Iguodala is a great complimentary player, but he neither bridges the gap to the future for the Lakers nor makes them an emphatically better team. Plus, they would almost assuredly have to take on more salary from the Lakers, in the form of someone bile-inducing like Luke Walton.
A Luke Walton-Spencer Hawes combination on the floor. The horror...
Expect Odom to stay in talks through the draft, but any player that whifs three times in trade talks is unlikely to be moved. Trading a player is less of a process and more of a roulette wheel. Spin it three times and you run out of chips.
