If Odom Departs, It’s Back to the Paper Clips

The Clippers can’t stop now. With Donald Sterling’s hand nice and limber from signing more than $124 million worth of contracts for Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, he has to dip the pen into the inkwell one more time and commit to Lamar Odom.

Commitment and Odom. Now there are two concepts that don’t make for a natural combination. It’s an especially chilling thought when that act of faith comes with a $63-million price tag.

But if the Clippers don’t match the Miami Heat’s contract offer to Odom -- and they’re not exactly hinting that they will -- there won’t be any way to describe their most expensive summer ever other than a huge step backward.

How could this franchise be moving in the right direction if it lost its Nos. 3-6 scorers (a group responsible for 50 points a game), its top three-point shooter and its leading assist man?

Well, 75% of that group is already gone in the persons of Andre Miller, Michael Olowokandi and Eric Piatkowski. In other words, their starting point guard, starting center and best shooter. That leaves Odom, sitting in the lobby, waiting for someone to call his flight number.

As much as Odom has made it clear that he wants to go to Miami, the Clippers can’t let him get on that plane. If he does, any meaning to the 2003-04 season goes with him.

Only the most foolish Clipper fan would feel as excited now as he did in the two previous off-seasons, which brought Brand and Miller and prompted all sorts of playoff talk. The path to the postseason looks more daunting than ever. With a healthy Odom finally realizing his potential, they can at least entertain the thought. But remove Odom and his career averages of 16 points, seven rebounds and 4.5 assists and the Clippers can just book April 15 as their vacation start date right now.

It’s not that Odom is a proven winner. His playoff moments look a lot like Gary Coleman’s political accomplishments: nonexistent.

It’s not that Odom deserves such big bank. If he could not comply with the NBA’s drug treatment program or diligently rehab his injuries when he had a large contract at stake, what’s going to keep him in line once he actually has the money?

But there’s nothing better for them, either on their own roster or in the dwindling free-agent pool.

The Clippers deserve to get stuck with such a big tab because they’re always reactive instead of proactive, because they lack vision and initiative. If they’re going to let other teams determine the value of their players -- as has been the case with their restricted free agents this summer -- then they can’t complain if the price tag is too high.

They have until Tuesday to match Miami, and it might take just that long to make the decision. They’re still gathering and assessing before a final meeting with Sterling.

New Coach Mike Dunleavy wouldn’t have come here unless he could exert some influence on personnel decisions -- but this won’t be his call. He doesn’t have a strong enough sense for Odom’s game to make a strong recommendation one way or the other.

Then again, who knows for sure what Odom will be as a player? He’s even more of a mystery now than he was when entered the league four years ago. Back then he slipped from the No. 1 spot to the Clippers’ fourth pick because of questions surrounding his personal life -- including rumors of drug use.

We just haven’t seen him play enough games with this group. Maggette, Quentin Richardson and Keyon Dooling are the only players left from 2000-01, the last time Odom played close to a full season (76 games). He has played a total of 78 games in the two seasons since. When he returned from his various injuries and suspensions last season he had to adjust to the presence of Miller. The two never did reach a comfortable understanding of who should handle the ball. We still don’t know just how effectively he can play with Brand, who now is the unquestioned focal point of the team.

But Odom can run the offense and also take advantage of matchups in the low post, two voids left by the departures of Miller and Olowokandi.

And when things are going right, he can be more popular than Brand. Brand is a dependable worker and solid citizen, but Odom moves more replica jerseys off the racks.

Odom likes to be liked, and the Clippers’ initial offer of $24 million over three years just wasn’t enough love.

Odom has sought a meeting with Elgin Baylor, only to be held off. Maybe the Clippers are repaying Odom for the times they wanted to talk to him but couldn’t find him.

Baylor left town Wednesday and will return later in the week. A team spokesman said he would not publicly address the situation, anyway.

No one’s saying much of anything this week. Odom said plenty last week, when he said the Clippers should just let him go.

The Clippers already heard such talk from Brand’s agent, David Falk, and they chose to ignore it and match Miami’s six-year, $82.2-million offer sheet.

The Clippers thought it was a move they had to make no matter whose feelings were hurt.

They seem to respond only to ultimatums and necessities -- don’t forget, part of this summer spending was mandatory to reach the NBA’s minimum team payroll of $32.88 million.

There isn’t much of a choice now. It’s either spend $63 million on Odom or let the $124 million they spent on Brand and Maggette go to waste.

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