|
Good gamble
Clippers take a chance on Odom
Posted: Thursday July 01, 1999 08:50 AM
| |
Although Odom (left) is 6-foot-9, he is an excellent ball handler and averaged 3.8 assists for Rhode Island.
AP |
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lamar Odom, who has shown some signs recently
of being the teenager he is, believes it's time to grow up.
Odom, who probably dropped a couple of places in the draft by
being a no-show at several NBA draft functions, was picked by the
Los Angeles Clippers as the fourth player taken in Wednesday's
draft.
After declaring for the draft this year following his sophomore
season at Rhode Island, Odom decided, briefly, that he wanted to
return to school.
Then he skipped the Chicago pre-draft camp, broke several
appointments to try out for teams, and then didn't show up at
Tuesday's media session before the draft in Washington.
Odom said that it wasn't that he wanted to miss all the
appointments, but that "I was going through a time when I was
having trouble with my representation and I really was
uncomfortable with a lot of things."
| CNN/SI On-Site |
| NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer talks about Lamar Odom |
There's no question Lamar Odom's off-court troubles contributed to people speculating that he could drop as low as No. 7 or maybe even No. 9 or 10.
So when the L.A. Clippers picked, most expected them to go with Wally Szczerbiak, but they elected to go with Odom.
|
|
| |
"But that's behind me," he said in a conference call shortly
after the Clippers selected him. "I want the Clippers to know
that, besides a good basketball player, they're getting a good
citizen and a great kid.
"Of course I made some mistakes, but I'm only 19. I learned
from my mistakes. Now I'm a man, and I'm ready to play basketball
in a man's world, and that's the NBA."
Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor decided after a telephone
conversation with Odom that the Clippers would take the 6-foot-9,
220-pounder who can play almost every position.
Baylor said the Clippers were ecstatic that Odom was still
available when their turn came, and that the team executives feel
he will mature.
"He was trying to decide whether to go back to school," Baylor
said. "He feels now that he's ready [to be in the NBA]. I think he
was just indecisive. He was not sure what he wanted to do."
Coach Chris Ford, who seemed delighted with the choice, doesn't
think the Clippers will have any problems with Odom.
"He's only 19 years old. We will put him in a situation where
we can help him grow," Ford said. "He's made mistakes, but he has
never been in serious trouble; there was nothing in the kid's past
to say he was untouchable."
Baylor said team officials had spoken with Jim Harrick, Odom's
coach at Rhode Island, and "Harrick had nothing but great things
to say about him."
Odom, who transferred from UNLV and missed the 1997-98 season,
averaged 17.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists for Rhode Island
last season.
The Clippers also were interested in UCLA guard Baron Davis, but
Charlotte took him with the No. 3 pick.
Los Angeles used its second-round pick, the 31st selection, to
take Rico Hill, who played in Spain last season. Hill, a 6-6
forward, averaged 11.4 points in 24 games for Baloncesto
Fuenlabrada. He played college ball at Illinois State, averaging 15
points in three seasons before leaving after his junior year.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
