Lamar Odom is having a really, really bad year

The Lakers are having their own troubles with Andrew Bynum's slow emotional unraveling and Kobe Bryant's injuries. But Lamar Odom has their woes beat. Since being traded by the Lakers much to his surprise and regret after the NBA work stoppage ended, Odom has been benched and sent to the development league. Now his team, the Dallas Mavericks, has deactivated him and basically told him to go home. Childhood friend and former teammate Metta World Peace didn't sound very sympathetic.

Maybe he can come back and be a ball boy and then next year, come play," World Peace said with a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin on his face following the Lakers' 93-91 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Monday. "That's what he should do. He'd be the first ball boy in the NBA that can play. Come back; get the towels and next year, play. Why not? He should be a scout. Lamar should be a scout."

It wasn't that long ago that Odom was thought to be the best sixth man in the NBA.