Lamar Odom was on drugs while playing for the Dallas Mavericks and likely the Los Angeles Lakers, according to a report.
TMZ says there is evidence from his hotel rooms on the road that Odom was using serious drugs while playing for both teams.
Odom’s hotel room where the Mavs stayed in Memphis in March 2012 reportedly showed strong signs of drug use. According to TMZ, there was major carpet damage in Odom’s room at The Westin in Memphis, including quarter-sized burn marks, and the carpet had to be replaced. Hotel employees found white powder on the desk and reportedly say the room reeked of noxious smoke.
TMZ says other hotel rooms where Odom stayed on the road while with the Lakers showed similar signs.
Odom reportedly was smoking OxyContin and cocaine while with the Mavericks. None of his teammates knew about the drug use, though it was evident Odom was having problems.
Odom had an awful season with the Mavericks and was so bad they paid him not to play so they could use the roster spot on someone of worth. You may recall that Odom and Pau Gasol were traded in a three-team deal in Dec. 2011 that would have brought Chris Paul to the Lakers, but the trade was rejected by commissioner David Stern. Odom was nearly in tears at the thought of the Lakers dealing him. They eventually traded him to the Dallas Mavericks, which was a total disaster.
The drug timeline actually explains a lot about Odom’s struggles and makes a lot of sense when examining some of the stories he was involved in. The guy was an emotional wreck that season and never clicked with the Mavs. He said he was in such a bad mental state that he thought about taking the year off from basketball. In the summer of 2011, Odom’s cousin was murdered and he was involved in a car crash that killed a pedestrian. TMZ’s initial report said Odom began using drugs two years ago, which would place it right after that difficult time in his life.
More recently, Odom reportedly has been hooked on crack.
We obviously hope that Odom is able to clean up his life, but we have some serious questions here. If Odom was using these kinds of drugs during the NBA season, how was he not picked up during the league’s drug testing? They need to seriously reevaluate their testing if Odom was able to abuse drugs during the season and never get punished. Had he tested positive, he might have been able to get help sooner.
