Lakers News and Rumors 2013: Lakers Likely To Sign ‘Drug-Free’ LaMar Odom; Former Sixth Man of the Year Wants Old Life Back

The Los Angeles Lakers are apparently interested in giving LaMar Odom another chance to play in the NBA following reports of a meeting between the former Sixth Man of the Year winner and his former team, a source close to situation reported on Tuesday.

The Lakers reportedly reached out to Odom last Monday, but Ramona Shelburne of ESPN indicated the call was on a personal level and basketball matters were not tackled.

"Lakers have reached out to Lamar Odom recently, but I'm told the call was on a personal level," Shelburne posted on his Twitter account.

However, other NBA analysts really believed the Lakers are still interested in bringing back the versatile forward and the call was done to evaluate if he has finally bounced back from his highly-publicized drug addiction issues.

According to the latest reports by Entertainment News, the 33-year old Odom is now sober and eager to get his life back on track.

"He just wants to get healthy and be there for his kids," a source close to situation disclosed to E News.

It has been a whirlwind of a summer for Odom, who was all over the front page of newspapers following reports of his struggle to fend off his cocaine addiction. His marriage with celebrity Khloe Kardashian was rumored to also be in jeopardy due to his allegedly having extra-marital affairs with other women.

However, the source said the athlete is now trying to patch everything up between him and Khloe. Moreover, he expressed his interest in playing basketball again after his career went downhill mainly due to his drug abuse and inconsistency on the floor.

"He is taking steps to get himself back on track," the source says. "He wants his old life back, although he realizes that might not include Khloé."

Drafted 4^th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1999, Odom averaged 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds throughout his NBA career. His finest years were during his tenure with the Lakers, where he won his back-to-back NBA championship in 2009 and 2010.

Odom averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3 assists to win the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2010-2011 season.