Mavs GM: Decision in 'everyone's best interest'

By foxsports
Published

DALLAS — During his seven minutes speaking with media Monday, Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson made it known on several occasions that it was a mutual decision for Lamar Odom and the Mavs to part ways.

"I know it's been a difficult and frustrating year for our fans, for Lamar and for ourselves," said Nelson, standing in the Mavericks' practice facility, holding a Starbucks cup in his left hand. "We just think it's in the best interest of everyone to do this at this time."

According to Nelson, Odom has been placed on the inactive list and will not be with the team for the rest of the year.

"The timing is what it is," Nelson said. "These things never come at the best of times. We thought with the playoff-push coming up it was probably in everyone's best interest.

"Look, it's been a frustrating situation. Lamar hasn't performed like he wants to perform and is capable of performing. He's dealt with a lot of personal issues. At this point, we need to be able to count on some things. It's never easy to do these things. We just need to move on."

Nelson would not say who made the first move. Instead, he tried to turn the focus to what remains ahead for the Mavericks this season, a team that as of Monday, sits in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.

"We're in our playoff time right here," Nelson said. "We need to win games. We got to be able to look down that bench and count on folks to be consistent. Unfortunately with him in his state right now, he's just not capable of doing that. I say that with his best interest in mind. He's going through a very, very tough personal time. We certainly understand that. But we're in the thick of it in the West, and we've got to win games."

The 32-year-old averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in 50 games with the Mavericks. Last season, Odom, who landed in Dallas in exchange for a 2012 first-round draft pick and an $8.9 million trade exception, averaged 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in 82 games with the Lakers.


Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota