NBA Policy Has Odom’s Return Up in the Air

No question, it’s a mad, mad world when the NBA charges the highest ticket prices of the four major professional sports in North America and yet cannot say for certain whether one of its best players will play.

The league says it can’t say when the Clippers can expect Lamar Odom back on the floor. But it’s beginning to sound as if the league simply won’t say when he’ll be reinstated from a drug suspension it announced as a minimum of five games Nov. 5.

Odom is a repeat offender, which is his own fault. He said during a tearful news conference Nov. 7 that he “chose to experiment with marijuana,” and was busted by the league for the second time in eight months.

Ultimately, the blame rests on Odom’s shoulders.

But the NBA’s refusal to announce how long Odom will be suspended isn’t good for the game. No other league handles suspensions in such a seemingly clandestine manner, leaving all concerned in the dark.

It’s a particularly bad deal for the ticket-buying public, which expects to see the Clippers at full strength. After all, they’re paying full price--in some cases, that means more than $1,000 for a courtside seat. There’s no such thing as 20% off all tickets while Odom is out.

The league says Odom’s suspension is a confidential matter between the player and the league’s drug council. Perhaps the league would have been wiser to simply announce he had been suspended indefinitely.

Most people read the words “a minimum of five games” and see only “five games.”

Odom sat out his eighth game Tuesday, when the Clippers faced the Lakers at Staples Center. A sellout crowd of 20,316 showed up hoping to see Odom play, but Odom was not there.

So, why the cone of silence over Odom?

The NBA has no comment.

“There really isn’t anything I can say,” said Brian McIntyre, senior vice president of communications. “We really can’t comment on anything.”

Odom has been advised by his agent to refrain from speaking to reporters, but he’s a friendly guy and has a hard time saying no. “It’s a character test,” he said of having to sit out.

Otherwise, there’s not much he can do, but keep checking with the league to see if he has served his time. He also must attend counseling sessions and produce negative drug tests. In some cases, marijuana is detectable in a body for up to a month.

Elgin Baylor, Clipper general manager, has said all he can say. The team could face a fine of up to $1 million if it leaks any details of Odom’s suspension. “There’s nothing more we can say about Lamar because we don’t know anything,” Baylor said.

Coach Alvin Gentry also said he’s through speaking about Odom until he returns. Gentry then spoke at length about Odom’s situation but revealed nothing.

“When the time comes, the league will tell us,” he said. “There’s nothing I can say. They’re going to tell us when he can play. A minimum of five games means maybe six, maybe seven, maybe eight, maybe ... “

So, that’s what Gentry was up against as he prepared to face the two-time NBA champion Lakers.

“They know we want him back,” Gentry said, referring to the league when asked if he was growing frustrated. “They know we want him to play. There’s criteria he has to meet, but we don’t know what it is. That’s just it. You know as much as we do.

“We’ve asked him, ‘Lamar, are you doing everything they’re asking you to do?’ He says, ‘Yes, I’m doing everything they’re asking me to do.’ ... There’s no answer to give you. When they call and they say he’s released from his suspension, then he’ll be ready to play.”

And what of Odom’s teammates? “I thought he’d be back today,” said power forward Elton Brand, Odom’s childhood friend from New York.

“I was just thinking about it. We all thought that he would be back for the Laker game.”

Asked if he believes it is fair for the league to keep Odom and the Clippers guessing as to the date of his reinstatement, Brand offered a nervous chuckle.

“I don’t want to get in trouble here,” he said. “Is it fair? It’s definitely strange that we don’t know.”