Lamar Odom should have spent a little more time playing basketball and a little less time keeping up with the Kardashians.
Khloe Kardashian’s husband was released from the Dallas Mavericks Monday in what the team’s officials called a “mutual decision.”
But NBA sources say that the forward’s dramatic life in front of reality TV cameras for “Khloe and Lamar” distracted him from the game.
“[The Mavericks] grew tired of his BS and kicked him to the curb,” an NBA source told Page Six. “[The team] didn’t need someone pouting like a little kid.”
Sources said that there was added pressure on Odom to play well since his games were filmed for the reality show.
“When he wasn’t playing well, it meant he looked bad,” a source told Page Six. “And when you have a show about your life, when you are off-court, you have to deal with the producers asking all those questions. He had a horrible summer, but… he was more concerned about the cameras and how he looked.”
Odom faced a tumultuous trade deal last December when the Los Angeles Lakers traded him to Dallas. The move was chronicled on the reality series, and the trade visibly rattled Odom and Kardashian, who were forced to leave the comforts of Hollywood.
Odom put up career lows during his time with the Mavericks, averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, compared with 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds during his last season with the Lakers. Earlier this spring, Odom was demoted to the NBA’s D-league team, the Texas Legends, after he missed three Mavericks games while caring for his sick father.
But others say Odom’s bad attitude about the trade and the team was part of his problem on and off the court.
“The Mavericks waited for Odom to come around, but they were perhaps too patient. His lack of effort on the court and general apathy toward everything while in Dallas was an instant annoyance to fans and media,” WFAA.com, a Dallas news station, wrote.
At least Odom and Kardashian have their unisex fragrance, “Unbreakable,” to fall back on. Because who doesn’t want to smell like a mixture of Khloe and Lamar?