And he especially didn’t want to be in Dallas. He never wanted to leave Los Angeles, the Lakers and his teammates. His mental well-being already spiraling, the trade to the Mavericks created a perfect storm. “I think the effects of seeing die and then watching this kid die, it beat me down. When I had to bury my child, I probably didn’t start grieving until a year and a half later.

“I’ve been burying people for a long time. “Death always seems to be around me,” Odom told the Los Angeles Times after the wreck. Five year’s prior, he lost his six-month-old son to infant sudden death syndrome the morning after a night of partying. The following day, the vehicle Odom was traveling in was involved in a car crash in which a 15-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed. In April 2011, he attended the funeral of his 24-year-old cousin, who murdered in New York. Off the court, he was grieving and battling addiction. On the court, Odom was a star with a Hollywood pedigree. We feel he's going to add so many different dimensions for us - length, playmaking, scoring, experience, championship experience.' 'Lamar Odom is a guy we have great respect for as a person and as an all-around player in this league. And that's exciting,' Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle said at the time. 'Right now, for me, having Odom, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, we may have the best forward trio in this league right now.

Making matters sweeter for the Mavs, they only gave up a trade exception worth $8.9 million and a future first round pick to land him. He was coming off his best season, one where he stuffed the box score, averaging 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and three assists per game on his way to winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. The Mavericks touted him as the team’s signature off-season acquisition after the Lakers dealt him December 11, 2011. Odom’s time in Dallas wasn’t supposed to be fraught with the tension and animosity he describes. “Our recollections are quite different,” Cuban said in an e-mail. For his part, the Mavericks’ owner doesn’t remember Odom’s stint in Dallas or their interactions in the same light.

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