Lamar Odom To LA: There's No Place Like Home

No hard feelings, right?

After leaving Lakers fans — and at times management — twisting in the wind, Lamar Odom said Friday that it was all just a bluff. He wanted to be in Los Angeles, he wanted to be thought of as a winner and this was a team that could make that happen, and in the end his heart was in Los Angeles.

If there was a mantra in his press conference after he signed a four-year deal worth up to $33 million, it was that Los Angeles is Odom’s home.

“I’m back where I wanted to be, where I want to end my career,” Odom said. “It's something I couldn't pass up. I did if for (a chance) to (win)."

It sure didn’t feel like that over the last month when Odom flirted with at times Portland (although not that seriously), a little with Dallas, and a whole lot with Miami. Odom called the Miami effort to recruit him “aggressive.” He also admitted that he met with Pat Riles in Los Angeles a few days ago.

But it was all a bluff, right?

“If he was bluffing, then so were we, let’s leave it at that,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss called Odom’s bluff a couple weeks ago, pulling a more lucrative deal off the table when he felt Odom and his agent were not even bothering to respond and instead were flirting with Miami. It worked, within 24 hours Odom had called Buss to keep the talks going. Although, Buss never put that original offer back on the table, with the Lakers offered was still more than $2 million a year more than any other team

At the press conference, everyone was ready to put the turbulence and worry of the past couple weeks behind them. It was all love and championships and winning.

And if it is those things, Lakers fans will forget about the negotiations, too.