Pursuit of Odom Puts Riley's Negotiation Skills to Test

Shapecity · Jul 29, 2009

As the story goes, team president Pat Riley was in a room a few months back with dozens of Miami Heat fans on the verge of canceling their season tickets.

The reasons they gave ranged from having to make sacrifices in a slumping economy to the Heat's gradual drop off since the team won its lone NBA title in 2006.

Riley listened to each concern, rubbed his chin and launched his best sales pitch.

``I had an opportunity to speak with three groups that were on the fence for a number of reasons -- the economy, the product, the price,'' Riley said as he recalled the impact of his message. ``And they all renewed. So just get in a room and let me talk.''

If only things were that simple with the team's ongoing efforts to recruit free agent forward Lamar Odom.

After moving into striking distance of acquiring its top free agent target, the Heat continued Tuesday to play the waiting game for Odom, who is grappling with a decision to sign with Miami or return to the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Both teams are hopeful of a decision from Odom within the next few days, according to multiple sources.

Riley and Heat guard Dwyane Wade were in Los Angeles over the weekend for business and personal reasons, but also presumably to further entice Odom to accept the full midlevel contract of up to $34 million over five seasons.

A Los Angeles TV station reported that Riley and Wade were scheduled to meet with Odom and his agent Monday night. A Heat spokesman Tuesday would neither confirm nor deny the station's report.

Odom and Wade have been close friends since they played together on the Heat's 2003-04 team. Odom was traded to the Lakers after that season in a deal that delivered Shaquille O'Neal -- and, eventually, a title -- to Miami.

Wade has used his Twitter account to send messages about his desire to reunite with Odom. After sending a message Saturday that said he was in Los Angeles to bring Odom back to Miami, Wade sent another tweet Tuesday to say he was moving on to Portland for an endorsement meeting with Nike.

Several Internet and print reports outlets have speculated that Odom and agent Jeff Schwartz are using the Heat's interest as leverage to get a better deal from the Lakers.

According to reports, the Lakers initially offered Odom deals spanning three to four seasons worth between $27 millions and $36 million -- or about $9 million per season. But Lakers owner Jerry Buss pulled the offers after he learned that Odom was negotiating with the Heat. Talks between Odom and the Lakers reportedly resumed last week amid reports that Buss had decreased the offer by $4 million to $6 million overall.

Any deal with the Lakers is still believed to be more lucrative annually than the $5.85 million first-year salary Odom could get from the Heat. Miami is limited to only the midlevel because the team is well above the NBA salary cap and slightly above the $69.9 million luxury tax on excessive payrolls.

The Heat is hoping that Florida's income tax break -- which could add about $1 million a season to Odom's take-home pay -- and an early opt-out clause would close some of the gap.

Neither Odom, Schwartz nor Riley have returned repeated phone calls since the Heat first confirmed interest in Odom three weeks ago amid Wade's public questioning of his team's roster and ability to contend in the Eastern Conference.

An Odom addition would be the Heat's answer to splashy moves by Cleveland (O'Neal), Boston (Rasheed Wallace), Orlando (Vince Carter) and Atlanta (Jamal Crawford) -- teams that finished ahead of Miami last season.

Riley said in June that the team's priority was to protect its salary cap space in 2010 and that he likely wouldn't use the team's numerous exceptions on contracts that would extend beyond the 2009-10 season.

But that plan evidently was altered after Wade, who is eligible for a three-year contract extension and could become an unrestricted free agent next summer, said he would hold off on a commitment until upgrades were made.

Odom, a 6-10 forward who can play all five positions, has averaged 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds in 10 seasons. He was instrumental in the Lakers' playoff run and was expected to return after he helped the team win its 15th NBA title.

But an early-season demotion to the bench combined with the current contract dispute may have placed discouraging bookends to an otherwise solid run for Odom in Los Angeles.

The Heat also has been linked with vary levels of interest to free agent guard Allen Iverson and disgruntled Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer.

But if the Heat fails to land Odom, it is unclear if Riley will continue to pursue major moves this offseason or fall back to his initial plan for an overhaul next summer.

``I think he sees what we're doing, understands what we're trying to do,'' Riley said of Wade. ``He knows that we're not just trying to build a team around him, but a team to win.''
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Source: Miami Herald

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Pursuit of Odom Puts Riley's Negotiation Skills to Test

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