Odom, Mavs sever ties

Lamar Odom’s brief career with the Dallas Mavericks has come to an end.

ESPN.com reporter Marc Stein reported that Odom and the Mavericks that will allow the disgruntled power forward to leave the team without being released.

“The Mavericks and I have mutually agreed that it’s in the best interest of both parties for me to step away from the team,” Odom said in a statement to ESPN.com.

“I’m sorry that things didn’t work out better for both of us, but I wish the Mavs’ organization, my teammates and Dallas fans nothing but continued success in the defense of their championship.”

After the loss of key components like Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea from their 2011 NBA championship team, Odom was thought to provide some inside muscle for the Mavericks in the defense of their title when he was acquired shortly before the season from the Los Angeles Lakers.

But the 32-year-old Odom has struggled through a miserable season, averaging career-low totals of 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as he has shot 35.2 percent from the field in 50 games.

Sources told ESPN that Odom’s departure will be immediate and that the Mavericks intend to simply list him as inactive for the rest of the season instead of outright releasing him, leaving open the possibility that they could still trade him after the season in conjunction with the draft.

Any team that has Odom on its roster as of June 29 must buy him out by that date for $2.4 million or otherwise accept responsibility for the full $8.2 million that Odom is scheduled to earn in 2012-13.

The Mavericks currently are the No. 7 team in the Western Conference with nine games remaining. They still face a big challenge of making the playoffs with six of their last nine games on the road, including a brutal stretch of four road games in five days later this week.

Getting rid of Odom rids them of an off-the-court headache. And it should allow them to be more unified as they approach the tough finish.

But it will be interesting to see if the Mavericks have enough depth inside to match their playoff run from their championship season.

What do you think Spurs Nation? Are the Mavericks better off without Odom?

Bynum-Howard trade comes closest to making sense for Magic

Most obervers believe it’s only a matter of time before All-Star center Dwight Howard opts to leave Orlando for  a better financial situation in his next contract.

It’s already sparked much attention across the NBA, particularly the chances of Howard joining Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers when his contract with Orlando expires after the 2011-12 season.

The Magic are only two years removed from a trip to the NBA Finals. But several bad contracts for other players have provided a situation where they don’t have much salary cap space.

The Basketball Prospectus.com’s Kevin Pelton writes at  ESPN.com that there’s only one way for the Magic to attempt to get approximate value for Howard. That would be by rather than waiting for a sign-and-trade after next season.

And Pelton writes that the best  location would be the Lakers in a package including Los Angeles center Andrew Bynum.

The Magic would gain some youth by obtaining the 23-year-old Bynum. While he’s not nearly as accomplished offensively as Howard and a lot more injury prone, Bynum might have a chance to emerge with the Magic when not battling for touches with experienced inside offensive threats like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.

Pelton provides a lot of statistical evidence that proves the Magic wouldn’t suffer much of a decline if they plugged Bynum into their team in place of Howard.

What to do with Howard will be the major question facing the Magic. Orlando had the fifth-best point differential in the NBA last season and posted a 52-30 record last season that was eighth-best in the NBA. 

Whenver the lockout ends, Howard’s future with the Magic will become one of  the most intriguing stories in the NBA.

It could happen next month or it might be next year. But Howard’s future playing status could affect the balance of powers in the league for several seasons afterwards.

Buck Harvey: Phil says goodbye, as if he’s human

DALLAS — I always liked Phil Jackson. I liked his wit, and I liked how he saw the world, and I liked how he filled my notebook.

I liked how he coached, too. What the Triangle offense didn’t impact, his calm did.

But along the way, as he won 11 championships, Jackson was treated as if he were above the details that affect other coaches. That’s where his last day as a Laker came in.

Then, Jackson reminded everyone he’s human.

I didn’t like everything about Jackson. The asterisk label he put on the Spurs after their 1999 title, for example, was both arrogant and unfair.

Using seemingly every loss to critique officiating became a tiresome habit, too, and David Stern apparently felt the same. He gave Jackson a farewell gift Sunday: a $35,000 fine for his latest complaint.

Still, the vast majority of Jackson’s coaching career was as impressive as it was entertaining. He sparred with his bosses in Chicago while connecting with Michael Jordan, and those who played for him loved him.

Steve Kerr, a Jackson disciple, made for a good reference.

Jackson was the same Sunday. Then, he quoted Richard Nixon and Casey Stengel in a funny, relaxed final press conference.

When someone asked him about Rick Carlisle’s assessment of his retirement, that he doesn’t “know how long you can go to Montana and meditate and smoke peyote,” Jackson’s counter was classic.

“First of all,” he said, “you don’t smoke peyote.”

Jackson said this the way he walked off the floor Sunday. He looked, as always, bemused.

But neither his words nor his expression could hide what had happened over the previous few hours. Then, his Lakers — his two-time champions — came apart in every way a basketball team can come apart.

Was Jackson stunned by this, since just a week ago he was still coaching the conference favorite?

“No,” Jackson said, because he’s never stunned. That’s been his attitude, too.

But somewhere between Jason Terry throwing in 9 of 10 3-pointers and J.J. Barea dribbling through the Lakers’ defense, stunned should have been an appropriate reaction.

This was stunning, too: The Mavericks ended with 86 bench points Sunday, or as many as all of the Lakers.

Worse for Jackson, though, was the Lakers’ counter to the Dallas surge. With confused rotations and unwilling close-out defenders, the Lakers played without a discernible strategy.

Jackson had always believed in letting his guys work it out, and it was clearly an easier approach when his guys included a Jordan or a Kobe Bryant in his prime. But this past week, his timeouts came more quickly and more urgently, until Jackson went out of character in Game 3. Then, he bumped Pau Gasol in the chest.

So you’re changing your approach this late in your career, he was asked minutes before Game 4?

“Whatever it takes,” he said. “You do what you have to do coaching.”

This what-you-have-to-do thing goes on in Sacramento and Charlotte and even San Antonio.

His players followed his lead, losing their cool, too. Consumed by frustration, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum opted for dirty. Their actions gave the Lakers three ejections in the series.

So when the Lakers weren’t ill-prepared, they were lazy and childish. Isn’t coaching responsible for some of that?

Carlisle defended Jackson afterward. “Look, we’re talking about the greatest coach in the history of our game,” Carlisle said. “This shouldn’t taint what he’s done.”

Carlisle is right. Jackson’s legacy won’t be affected by one series or one game.

As for me: I like him now as much as I ever did.

Still, Sunday showed what has always been true. Jackson has coached great players to great things, but he’s always been as vulnerable as his peers. He’s always been vulnerable to aging players, and to red-hot opponents, and to games that don’t go his way.

And in his final one?

A bemused look couldn’t hide what had happened.

bharvey@express-news.net