Mark Cuban admitted that acquiring Lamar Odom in 2011 was the worst decision by the Dallas Mavericks.
Lakers Nation reported that in 2011, Odom was the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. The Mavs acquired the power forward from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a protected draft pick in the first round plus a trade exception valued at $8.9 million.
Back in 2011, the Lakers were planning to let go of Pau Gasol and Odom, although trade talks did not push through and the two men were supposed to remain in Los Angeles. Gasol handled the situation professionally, but Odom was hurt by the attempt to release him, saying that he does not want to stay in a team that does not want him. Odom forced Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to deal him to the Mavs.
When the Mavs got Odom, they initially thought they had a very good deal, but Cuban said that things did not pan out the way they intended. The big man only appeared in 50 games before Dallas traded him the next summer. He only mustered 6.6 points a game, while shooting 25.3 percent of his shots from the three-point line. Odom moved on to the Los Angeles Clippers for one last season before getting out of the NBA.
Fox Sports reported that Dwain Prince tweeted Cuban's description of the Lamar Odom acquisition in 2011. Prince tweeted, "#Mavs owner Mark Cuban said acquiring Lamar Odom in 2011 "was by far the worst" personnel move he's ever made."
ESPN reported that back in 2012, Mark Cuban and Odom had a heated exchange during a game at halftime. Odom was questioned by the Mavs owner about his commitment to the team. According to Cuban, their argument made him decide to let him go.
Cuban said then, "Just his response to it. Everybody goes through ups and downs. Every player does. We tried to put him in a position to succeed. You guys saw it, saw what we did. It didn't work."
Based on the same report by Fox Sports, Odom himself admitted that it was a bad decision to have moved out of Los Angeles since he failed so much in Dallas and was never the same player since. After his stint with the Clippers, he played overseas for a short time before Phil Jackson offered him to play in the NBA again with the New York Knicks. However, he still did not prove to be an asset to the team and was cut in July 2014.