MORE QUOTES ABOUT ODOM
It's been a week since the Clippers acquired reserve forward Lamar Odom from Dallas, but there is still much to be said about the former No. 4 overall draft pick coming back to L.A. Here are some excerpts from the press conference and interviews with Odom and Head Coach Vinny Del Negro that were not originally published:
Del Negro on direction of the team in 2012-13:
"We're trying to take the next step, but there's a process involved like a talk about all the time. You can't shortcut anything, but you need guys who have been there and the younger guys can learn from them. It's a team, not a one-man show, not a two-man show."
Del Negro on Odom's role:
"He'll be our third big, in terms of coming off the bench, playing 4, playing 5, playing some 3. We'll put him in some areas where we can spread the court with him allowing him to put it on the ground and make plays, get him the ball at the elbow, let him post it up a little bit. His versatility gives you a lot of options, which is a good asset to have."
Odom's thoughts on his experience in Dallas:
"Life is full of obstacles, sometimes you don't know what it's going to be or where it's going to come from. I've had my times of humility and life has humbled me in many different ways."
"You never know what life is going to bring you. Obviously, the things we go through prepare us, right, for things to come. And I'm a lot more prepared to go through adverse times."
"Sometimes you play good, sometimes you play bad. I guess my spurt of playing bad, I got that over with. You won't ever see that again. Sometimes you've got to find yourself as a man. I went through a lot, had to overcome a lot just to get on the court. You know, that time is done. I'm here now. I'm putting that behind me."
Odom on why the Olympic training camp in Las Vegas may not be the best thing for him:
"It might be best for me to stay here and work with the trainers and get back to playing at a high level, stick around here for a little bit, and become familiar with my surroundings."
Odom on what he'll bring to Clippers:
"I'm just going to be myself and the thing that I brought to those Laker teams that won championships is what I'm going to try to bring here.
"I feel like I can help on the court and inside the locker room just by being myself."
Odom talking about his previous four seasons with the Clippers:
"I was young and sometimes I did things in an immature fashion or immature way. But we all learned. I've learned so much. I was 23 years old and now I'm sitting here with a daughter that's going to high school and a son that's 10 years old and I'm a completely different person."
"I watched this team last year and I thought they could have come out of the West. Hopefully, I can be that piece and give them that nudge."
Odom on where his life is now:
"Since last year and doing the T.V. show a lot of people have questioned my focus on basketball and I never knew I was going to have a hit T.V. show, I never planned that, but my focus to basketball is there. And there are a lot of things I want to make right. I know what kind of player I am and I just want to get back that level. You know, I told coach [Del Negro], 'I'm 100 percent in for whatever he needs and wants to be done. I'll be his soldier.'"
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