By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Lamar Odom arrived in Spain today for Laboral Kutxa, as he said “I am very happy to be here and I hope that we will have a great season” and almost after 15 years since his first opportunity to cross the pond, he will play in Europe. Yes, Lamar Odom back in 1998, when he was just a high school graduate with not the best of grades and decisions, flirted with the notion of playing professionally in Europe before entering the NBA draft and not spend a season in the NCAA, because he needed the money.
The team which was really interested on him was Greek club AEK, led by former Aris and Olympiacos coach Giannis Ioannidis, currently a conservative politician. Ioannidis, however, had his reservations about the maturity of the player and his character, so he decided to sign veteran Ricky Pierce instead. Odom played college basketball for one season in Rhode Island and the rest, as they say, it’s history….