ODOM, MO WILLIAMS, AND THREE OTHERS SWITCH TEAMS
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired forward Lamar Odom from the Dallas Mavericks. The Utah Jazz acquired combo guard Mo Williams (from the Clippers) and the draft rights to shooting guard Shan Foster (from the Mavericks). The Dallas Mavericks acquired the draft rights to forward Tadija Dragicevic (from the Jazz), plus a trade exception worth $8.9 million, and cash considerations (from the Rockets). The Houston Rockets receive the draft rights to power forward Furkan Aldemir (from the Clippers).
What does it give the Los Angeles Clippers
Odom is a great fit for the Clippers, even after his awful 2011-12 campaign. Personal troubles and a poor fit in Big D kept the 2010-11 NBA Sixth Man of the Year from playing to his usual stellar potential, but he's still young enough to be a strong asset for the Clips. In returning to L.A. he'll be much more comfortable, and should give the Lakers the big man they need in their rotation to take pressure off {P Blake Griffin}, {P DeAndre Jordan}, and the aging {P Caron Butler} (a former Lakers teammate).
What does it give the Utah Jazz
With {P Raja Bell} seemingly not likely to return after his run-ins with head coach Tyrone Corbin last season, Williams should step right in as Utah's new starting shooting guard. The move should rejuvenate his career, and will give the Jazz a leadership presence in his prime who should provide a steady hand on and off the court. He has bumped around as a sometimes-sixth man the past few seasons, but Williams is an underrated star-caliber player. Foster is a good three-point shooter who's been playing in Italy, so may be a solid contributor for Utah down the line.
What does it give the Dallas Mavericks
Odom was a bust for Dallas last season, and after falling out with team brass he was made inactive. Moving him here lets the Mavs move on, while freeing up cash to sign another player: the 'trade exception' Dallas gets here lets them add a player (or players) for up to $8.9 million in annual salary in trades over the next year, without sending salary back in return (which teams usually have to do in deals). Dragicevic has been successful playing in Europe (and is currently with Italian club Angelico Biella), but it's unclear when (and if) he'll ever head over to the NBA.
What does it give the Houston Rockets
Houston has been very busy lately and while they're not a major part of this deal, they do a nice job of landing the gritty Aldemir. He has the potential to play some center in the NBA eventually, but it's not clear how ready he is to play in the NBA. The Rockets have been scrambling for answers in the post lately, so this is a solid long-term potential solution for them.
Fantasy impact
