To Earn His Passage, Odom Can’t Rock Boat

Before we see what the Clippers do for Lamar Odom, one question has to be resolved: What’s Lamar Odom going to do for the Clippers?

He has to do everything he can to get the team into the playoffs, while keeping himself out of trouble. For a franchise that loves to take the easy way out, he has to make it difficult--if not impossible--to let him leave.

Odom already has the essentials down. The numbers from his first two seasons in the NBA round out to 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game. He was blessed with a 6-foot-10 body and developed the ballhandling skills of a point guard. He can stroke three-pointers, toss up that soft hook shot or drive the lane and dunk on centers, making it all look as simple as licking an ice cream cone.

What might be more difficult is avoiding all of the mistakes and lapses in judgment.

He can’t violate the league’s drug and after-care policy. He can’t be a no-show at practices. He can’t foul out or get thrown out of games so easily. He can’t give the Clippers any excuses not to bring him back.

If Odom comes through, then it’s up to the Clippers to come through. He will be eligible to sign a contract extension next summer, and he could be looking at approximately the same chunk of cheddar as that $83.5-million, six-year deal Vince Carter signed with the Toronto Raptors.

“I swear to you, I don’t even think about that,” Odom said. “When it comes to awards and accolades, I always stay humble. If that’s something that’s coming, if somebody feels like I’m good enough and they want me in their franchise forever, then I’ll accept it. But if it doesn’t, then I’ve just got to keep playing, keep being me and try to make the best of it. Hopefully, it’ll be here.”

Odom’s at the heart of this team’s rejuvenation and the head of the Clipper Kiddie Corps that made the step from pitiful to mediocre by winning 31 games last season. They have to fall in line behind someone, and it can’t simply be the guy with the best PlayStation games at his house.

“The one thing is that leaders emerge, and they’re not appointed,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “This is Lamar’s team. Either that’ll happen by itself, or it won’t. I want to see him just have fun playing. That sounds like a simple thing. I don’t want him to put all the pressure on himself. And I want him to control his emotions a little more than he did last year. I thought he got much, much better last year than he was at the start of the season.”

Gentry coached Grant Hill in Detroit and saw Hill struggle to accept the duties of being team leader, superstar, community icon. Gentry says it got to the point where basketball wasn’t fun for Hill anymore.

Odom is much more emotional than Hill. He sometimes takes out his frustrations on basketballs and hoop supports.

“I get to a point ... where I might be hurting myself, or not as focused as I could be,” Odom said. “I’ve just got to control and kind of ride the wave a little bit more ... and just always stay in control.

“I think it’s more of just a focus. It’s a maturing process, really. Just keeping your composure. If you watch any young guy when they’re playing sports, they’re always wound up. Then when he becomes a little older, he becomes a little bit mild-toned.”

A little bit older is all he is. For as much as we’d like to see Odom mature, he won’t turn 22 until Nov. 6. The guy was born during Magic Johnson’s rookie season with the Lakers.

But when we’re talking about such big money, not only does he have to be a man, he has to be The Man. It’s time to put up a few triple-doubles, and put in some extra time at practice.

Then it will be time for the Clippers to come correct. There’s nothing they can do during the season. Even if Donald Sterling wanted to give Odom a check plus the title to a Wilshire Boulevard high-rise right now, he couldn’t. They’ll have to wait until next summer, when the league’s revenues are tallied and the new salary cap is set. They can give Odom a starting salary that equals 25% of that year’s cap.

The new collective bargaining agreement is definitely more conducive to marquee players staying with their teams. We saw Carter, Chris Webber and Antonio Davis defy predictions and stay home this summer. The Clippers being the Clippers, there are serious doubts that they can continue the trend. As much as they say they will keep Odom, we say, “Prove it.”

“It’s our turn to have to listen to this kind of speculation,” Clipper Vice President Andy Roeser said. “We will endure it, and then we will put the issue to rest.”

If they retain Odom, they won’t be completely finished, but at least they’ll be off to a good start. To keep the core of this team, they’ll also have to take care of Elton Brand (whose contract also can be extended next summer) and Darius Miles, to name just two. You look at the roster, with three players born in the ‘80s, and you don’t just look down the road, you gaze all the way down the interstate.

“We shouldn’t be looking that far into the future,” Odom said. “We have to take care of now.”

Which means Odom taking care of business, followed by the Clippers taking care of Odom.

“To me, it’s like, the better you play, the easier you make it,” Odom said. “So if I go out there and just be Lamar Odom and take care of myself and take care of my team, the process should be easy.

“I’m just going to let it fall in place. If I do my job, stay out of trouble, play all my games, don’t get sidetracked, I don’t think it should be a problem being here forever.”

It’s a simple formula. Now it’s time to see if things add up.

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at: j.a.adande@latimes.com