But I think it needs to be said, and it should be obvious, that everyone in Dallas who was saying the Odom trade was a big coup for them, all the media who said that the Odom trade spelled the end of the Lakers championship dynasty or their title contention this year, and even a lot of the fans in LA who said that the trade was one of the worst trades ever in the history of the NBA… all had one thing in common:

They all DRASTICALLY underestimated how good and how valuable Kobe Bryant is and how awesome of a coach Phil Jackson is, and really overestimated Odom’s value and importance to the Lakers.

All talk of reality shows and manufactured stardom aside, Dallas really F’d themselves out of the Dwight sweepstakes by trading a valuable 1st round pick and a $9M trade exemption to the Lakers for Odom, who saved $36M this season and next in salary and luxury tax, and actually improved by signing McRoberts and Murphy. So… it doesn’t get more in your face than that.

goodnight now!

But, leaving aside the personal narrative or the psychological aspect of all of this, just in terms of basketball Odom has a lot to prove as a Dallas Maverick.

What annoyed me was that after the trade it seemed like EVERYBODY in the media was clamoring to say that the Lakers were completely done because they had traded Odom, that they were no longer contenders, had traded away the heart and soul and one of their very best players, some kind of Pippen or something… and realistically that was just complete hogwash. I always thought that it was necessary to move him so that they could transition to the new system, for several reasons, that it was addition by subtraction. And they got a 1st round pick, which is great.

Still… everybody started off trashing the Lakers… they’re done. “amnesty Kobe” and all this complete idiocy. “Rebuild, they have no chance.” “without dwight, they are nothing.”

etc etc etc. It really gets back to dissing Kobe I think… and the reality of all this is gonna smack some people in the face I think… again, what day does Kobe drop the 100 on some team this year?

But what we are seeing just basically confirms the doubts the skeptics have had about Odom for years–that as a Laker he was inconsistent, was oftentimes just kind of “going through the motions”, was lacking in explosiveness at the rim and was way overrated as some sort of ballhandler “point forward” or whatever.

Phil Jackson’s system made great use of him, and he was semi-effective most of the time as a cog in the machine… although Laker fans were continually complaining that in crucial game situations another, more conventional player could’ve found a way to do more, to score more effectively or make the big stop for example. I mean, some of the missed layups from two feet away, for example some situations that occurred in the 2008 Finals loss to Boston… were just brutal, and it’s pretty obvious that just a good solid above average PF like McRoberts would’ve just thrown it straight down in the same situation.

I for one was really interested to see what Odom’s play would look like outside of the green “comfort-zone” of the Lakers, Phil Jackson and the Triangle. Especially on a Dallas team where, presumably, you have to be more of a self-starter or whatever. So… these excuses now being made… are unexpected but… as sad and depressing as they are… I tend to think that they are just excuses.

When the season started in Dallas he (and everybody else) was saying “Oh yeah, the Lakers will be sorry they made that trade.” And “Ooooh yeah, get ready for another trip to the Finals and another Title.” and “Oh yeah, can’t WAIT to start balling with the Mavericks. Title here we come!”

Nobody was saying “yeah… I’m out of shape, haven’t played in months, almost gave up the game, just not myself anymore…”

I mean this just is what it is, right? It’s what’s on the court that counts. I find it fascinating and I want to see how all this plays out.