By now, you’ve probably heard about the rumors surrounding the troubled free agent Lamar Odom. The former Sixth Man of the Year has been all over the media in recent days after news broke that he had gone missing due to marital and drug problems.
As it turned out, he wasn’t missing, at least according to his agent. Here is the latest update, from ESPN:
“Free-agent forward Lamar Odom is in a Los Angeles hotel where friends are trying to get him help for an unspecified drug problem, a source told ESPN on Monday. The information comes after Odom’s agent refuted a TMZ report Sunday that his client had been missing for 72 hours after a dispute with wife Khloe Kardashian. Agent Jeff Schwartz would not reveal Odom’s whereabouts, telling ESPN.com’s Marc Stein earlier Monday: “Lamar is not missing. His wife knows exactly where he is.” TMZ also reported that people close to Odom feared that he was involved with drugs.
Without disclosing further specifics, Schwartz added: “Playing in the NBA is still very much a part of Lamar’s plans.”
It’s a relief to know that Odom isn’t missing, which means he is not in imminent danger of any sort. Hearing of his drug issues certainly is a shocking concern, though, and it would appear to be a tough sell for his agent to convince an NBA team that the forward is going to be okay moving forward – and that’s assuming he still wants to remain a player and that the league won’t test, fine or suspend him in some way.
Those that were close to Odom in his days with the Los Angeles Lakers provided words of encouragement:
I hope my man and former Laker, Lamar Odom is doing okay.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) August 26, 2013
“@MagicJohnson: I hope my man and former Laker, Lamar Odom is doing okay.” Double ditto,LO
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) August 27, 2013
I wish my friend @RealLamarOdom is doing well. All these rumors are really worrying me. Lamar is one of the best guys I’ve ever played with.
— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) August 27, 2013
Jordan Crawford of the Boston Celtics was much more frank in expressing his feelings about the situation:
Lamar Odom what are u doin dude! In my @PoohJeter voice!! Get it together
— Jordan Crawford (@jcraw55) August 26, 2013
Indeed, the situation appears to be getting out of hand and at this point, is more about Odom getting his life back together than whether he can come back as a basketball player.
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James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.