LAKERS TELL LAMAR ODOM IF HE GOES TO REHAB THEY'LL SAVE A SPOT ON THE TEAM FOR HIM

LAMAR ODOM

The L.A. Lakers told Lamar Odom that if he goes to rehab immediately and kicks his prescription drug habit, they’ll save him a spot on the team.
Lakers manager Mitch Kupchak reached out to Odom’s agent Jeff Schwartz to say the team and its owners consider Odom to be part of the family, Radar Online reported.

They want Odom, who won two-time championships with the Lakers, to be the team's sixth man.

“Lamar is really resisting rehab, even with the Lakers’ offer on the table. He doesn’t want to miss training camp. Lamar thinks he can kick this on his own,” an insider told the gossip site.

The news of the Lakers' offer comes after Odom temporarily moved out of the home he shares with his wife, reality star Khloe Kardashian, as the rumors of his drug problem started to surface.

Although the public first learned of his drug problems earlier this month, there were whispers within NBA circles earlier this season that Odom was hooked on Oxycodone, an opiate that is twice the strength of morphine.

The L.A. Clippers allegedly refused to resign the player because of his drug use even though NBA drug testers took at least six urine samples from him last year, and more than one tested positive for the powerful painkiller. He managed to stay in the league by showing a valid prescription for the drug.

Lakers management learned of Odom’s troubles after his current and former teammates from the Lakers and the Clippers staged an intervention with him at a Los Angeles hotel on Monday. But, it failed.

“It’s very hard for him to admit that he needs help,” said the insider.