Lakers and Lamar Odom may want to stay together but is a break up more likely?

June 19, 3:33 PMSports ExaminerPaula Duffy

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  Lamar Odom after exit interview, June 18, 2009. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Thursday at the Lakers practice and training facility, five players had exit interviews with coach Phil Jackson and GM Mitch Kupchak.

The meetings are meant to give players a sense of what they can do in the off-season to maximize their contribution to the team next season. After their respective interviews they met with media.

Lamar Odom was first and he spoke softly into the microphones. He said he was tired and sure looked it. He was told to stay in shape during this off-season. He's had a tendency, whether recovering from injury or not to rest, relax and not be in shape when he'd arrive at training camp.

"They know I'm a socialite. When we go out, I'm well received, know what I'm saying?" Yeah Lamar, you're rich, single and not bad looking I get it. But he was told that if he kept himself in good condition he could build off the solid performance he had throughout the playoffs.

That to Lamar indicates the team wants him back. He wants to remain a Laker as well. But there's that money factor still lurking which Odom's agent addressed this way, according to the Los Angeles Times:

...as much as he's made it clear he wants to remain a Laker, it's going to depend on their offer and what the market holds for him."

You've read the Lakers luxury tax story and how it could inflate from $7 million this year to close to $20 million if the team signs both Odom and his teammate, Trevor Ariza. That would be on top of a payroll close to $90 million if market rates prevail for those two players. No one knows if Lakers' owner, Jerry Buss is ready to shell out that kind of dough.

L.O. jokingly said that since his exit interview took 20 minutes he thought negotiations for his new deal should take less than that. After the laughter subsided he continued: "Three years, $80 million, that should about do it". The room erupted.

"That's where my mind is at right now", he said in answer to a question about him wanting to return to the team. "The best thing about winning championships, I tell you, is that you're on a team that you feel like you can win another one." He went on to hit that darker note however, "It all comes down to negotiating."

When one journalist asked him to confirm a report that he had given his teammates a customized gift of some very expensive whiskey in a purple sack embroidered with, "Los Angeles Lakers 2009 NBA Champs" he was surprised anyone knew. Get with it Lamar, this website had exclusive photos.

Other than Jalen Rose of ESPN, I haven't heard anyone come down on the side of signing Odom rather than Ariza if only one can be accommodated. I now throw my name into that company of one. He's the team's sixth man, like Ginobili is for the Spurs.

He is also the guy that kept the engine running when Bynum was injured or in foul trouble which in the last two years has been more than half of each season. No one gives the team his combination of height, scoring, defense and ball handling. Ariza's skills, as good as they are can be duplicated. That isn't true of Lamar's

On that note, the Candy Man walked off into his championship summer with no idea of whether he'd be putting his gear back into the same locker he had just cleaned out.

For more info:  Was candy the reason for Odom's ups and downs?    Kobe says his contract won't be an issue

Colin Ward-Henninger, our Lakers Examiner covers the team, here    FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER