It has certainly been a rollercoaster week for fans of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Chris Paul deal brought a combination of excitement mixed with nervousness after finding out that getting CP3 would cost two talented big men. Then, mixed emotions turned to a unified sense of rage at NBA commissioner David Stern when he killed the trade for reasons that still have not been fully explained. Now, an appeal is moot because Lamar Odom has been moved to the Dallas Mavericks. What could possibly happen next?

Not a great deal

Personally, I didn’t think the Chris Paul deal was necessarily a huge win for the Lakers, so David Stern may have done them a favor. Would Paul and Kobe Bryant have instantly formed the best backcourt in the NBA? Probably. Would their styles have complimented each other and would Kobe routinely defer to the younger Paul? Uncertain. Would the Lakers suddenly be very thin up front? Absolutely. Chris Paul is an amazing talent, and it is a guard’s league. However, giving up Odom and Pau Gasol was not necessarily a good move. Odom can be maddeningly inconsistent, but he is also an incredible talent and he does a lot of things that do not necessarily make the highlight reel. In addition, one bad playoff series does not change the fact that Pau Gasol is a versatile big man that would have been difficult to replace.

Not a great deal, Part II

The deal that sent Lamar Odom to Dallas is a bit of a head-scratcher. This deal has the feel of something that was done in order to set up something else, but if Dwight Howard does not appear, was it worth it? Again, Odom could drive people crazy at times, but recent words from Kobe Bryant show that his teammates appreciated him. I have a feeling that this deal might come back to hurt the Lakers in the future unless it leads to an even better transaction.

Something else in the works?

Is Dwight Howard coming to the Lakers? After all the drama in the NBA office, it is really hard to gauge what might happen. As mentioned, David Stern appears to have killed the Chris Paul deal just because he didn’t like it on a philosophical level. Would he also kill a deal for Dwight Howard? Of course, there is always the possibility that Lakers management is thinking about a rebuild rather than a reload. That is something that many Lakers fans do not want to even consider.

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The author grew up in Seattle and now lives in Los Angeles, where he waits patiently for the Sonics to return to the Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, he roots for the Clippers to become a winning franchise, and perhaps even the most popular team in their own city.

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Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates with Lamar Odom #7 during a 110-82 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on March 31, 2011 in Los Angeles.

Even Kobe Bryant can’t figure out why the Los Angeles Lakers are apparently trading Lamar Odom to one of their biggest rivals, the Dallas Mavericks.

“To be honest with you, I don’t like it,” Bryant said Sunday when the Lakers showed up for their third day of training camp knowing their top reserve will probably be shipped to Dallas for nothing but a trade exception.

“It’s tough to lose Lamar,” Bryant added. “Pau (Gasol) is still here, and we’re all thankful for that. It’s hard when you’ve been through so many battles with players to just see them go somewhere else. It’s tough.”

Neither team formally announced a trade early Sunday, but Dallas coach Rick Carlisle and star Dirk Nowitzki both essentially confirmed the deal, acknowledging their excitement about adding Odom to the defending NBA champions’ roster without losing a player in return.

Odom wasn’t at the Lakers’ training complex Sunday, and his teammates aren’t thrilled to know he’s probably on his way to Dallas, which swept the Lakers out of the second round of the postseason last spring.

“Especially to them,” Bryant said. “We were supposed to come back and get them back. It’s tough. … Do I think we got too little? Who did we get? I don’t think Mark Cuban is protesting this trade.”

Bryant and Derek Fisher don’t know what to make of their front office’s aggressive pursuit of Chris Paul followed by an apparent change of focus toward Orlando center Dwight Howard, who has requested a trade from the Magic, after the NBA blocked a megatrade for Paul on Thursday. Odom didn’t attend the Lakers’ first two days of practice after the team attempted to include him with Gasol in that three-team trade for Paul.

“As a basketball player, it confuses you as to what your focus should be,” Fisher said. “I’m very disappointed and frustrated for (Odom and Gasol).”

Although Bryant expressed his faith in general manager Mitch Kupchak, he would prefer to have Odom in camp as the Lakers regroup from last season’s failed attempt at a threepeat.

“You’re talking about the sixth man of the year last year,” Bryant said of Odom, who averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3 assists while playing in all 82 games last season. “He played lights-out. I don’t understand the criticism of reality shows and this. I don’t get that. He had his best season last year, clearly wasn’t a distraction, played his (rear) off. I don’t get where that comes from.”

Odom starred in a reality show last season with his wife, Khloe Kardashian, clearly enjoying his celebrity at the main intersection of sports and Hollywood. Kardashian tweeted obliquely about her excitement when news of the apparent trade surfaced Saturday night.

Even Odom’s contract is a good deal for his employers: He will make a modest $8.9 million this season in the third year of a four-year deal, which can be bought out next season for a modest amount. The Lakers’ trade exception means they can acquire a player making Odom’s salary or less without the usual complications, but it would be only one part of a hypothetical deal for Howard or another star.

With this chaos on top of the usual amount of drama surrounding the high-profile Lakers, new coach Mike Brown is attempting to plan for a season with no idea who will be in his lineup in two weeks when Los Angeles hosts the Chicago Bulls in their Christmas season opener. Gasol and fellow big man Andrew Bynum went through their third day of workouts on Sunday not knowing whether they would have a chance to use all this new information.

“If I’m here, I’m looking forward to the season,” said Bynum, who knows he’s rumored to be the main component in any proposed deal for Howard. “If they were able to pull a move like that off, it would be great for the organization, and I’d be in Orlando hooping.”

Lakers forward Matt Barnes has been in contact with Howard, his former teammate in Orlando. Barnes said he doesn’t need to sell Howard on the Lakers.

While Odom stayed away from the Lakers, Gasol reported to the team despite the possibility of his imminent departure. He remains hopeful he’ll stay in Los Angeles, but the four-time All-Star no longer knows what to think about his near future.

“I understand this is a business, and it’s become more of a business than a sport nowadays,” Gasol said. “It hasn’t been extremely easy to be calm and quiet and not think about the different possibilities. But I’m still here, and I’m thankful for that.”

Updated Jul 19, 2011 3:31 AM ET

A funeral was held Monday for a 15-year-old boy who died after suffering injuries in a car accident involving Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom, according to a report.

The boy, who was struck by a motorcycle involved in the crash with Odom’s car Thursday night, underwent emergency surgery at a nearby hospital in Queens but died on Friday morning, TMZ reported, saying it confirmed the news through the boy’s family.

Odom, 31, was in Queens to attend the funeral of his cousin and had hired a car service to drive him around. He was riding in the back seat at the time and his reality TV star wife Khloe Kardashian was not in the car.

The car Odom was traveling in reportedly collided with a motorcycle, which in turn struck the 15-year-old pedestrian.

The boy’s family told TMZ he sustained major head injuries in the collision.

It was reported that the Lakers forward was particularly upset after the crash took place and was seen crying at the scene.

“??My thoughts and prayers are with the young boys family,” Odom tweeted late Monday.

Updated Jul 17, 2011 9:33 PM ET

NEW YORK

Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom was “shaken up” after he was involved last week in a car accident in New York City, Us Weekly reported Sunday.

Odom, 31, was in the back seat of a car being driven through New York at the time of the accident on Thursday night, a rep for his wife, 27-year-old reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, told Us.

TMZ and MediaTakeOut.com previously reported that the accident took place on Saturday and that Kardashian was also in the car, but Us reported that was not the case.

TMZ reported that Odom’s car struck a motorcyclist and a 15-year-old boy, with MediaTakeOut.com adding both were injured.

A source told Us that Odom was “shaken up” after the crash but that by Friday he was back at work, tweeting that he was shooting a Nike commercial in New York.

Read more here.

Kim Kardashian, along with  sisters Khloe and Kourtney and mother Kris Jenner, have always proclaimed that the events on their various reality shows on E! Entertainment, including “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and “Khloe & Lamar,” are real, unscripted and truthful.

That declaration provoked the intriguing question: How would “Khloe & Lamar,” which follows husband-and-wife Khloe Kardashian and Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom, handle Odom’s and the Lakers’ fall from grace in the NBA playoffs: the four-game sweep of the Lakers by the Dallas Mavericks and especially Odom’s ejection from Game 4 following his flagrant foul on the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitski, an act that basketball commentators called outrageous.

That question was finally addressed in the season finale Monday of ‘Khloe and Lamar.” And despite the claim of reality and honesty, the answer, to use a basketball term, was “a brick.” The playoff woes were not specifically addressed and Odom’s thuggish act in the final game was totally ignored.

The subject of the Lakers and their fate finally emerged toward the end of the episode when the couple, along with friends and family members, sat down for dinner. Odom’s friend Jaime says bluntly that he doesn’t want to be insulting but asks Odom how he’s feeling after “the disappointing season.” Odom initially seems taken aback and a bit miffed.

Khloe quickly chimes in that she thinks her husband had a “great season,” pointing out that he won the NBA’s sixth man award. Replies Jaime: “Yeah, individually he had a great season. But it’s a team sport.”

Odom says, “I can’t describe it. I’m probably still in shock a little bit. When you experience winning on a certain level, nothing can replace that.” He adds that “it’s probably what we’ve needed to rev us back up. The crazy thing is that you don’t realize how much time you don’t have.”

Whatever that means.

The lack of candor about the Lakers on “Khloe & Lamar” may indicate that the show will fall far short of its potential to provide an insightful glimpse into the personal life of an NBA player. But if you want to know whether Khloe Kardashian is healthy enough to bear children, or if her brother Rob impregnated a girl after a one-night hookup of unprotected sex, ‘Khloe & Lamar” is your show.

And those lingering questions about whether Odom’s participation in a reality show in the middle of the Lakers’ season is a good idea will have to wait.

Well, there’s always next season — maybe.

What did you think of the season finale of “Khloe & Lamar?”

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– Greg Braxton

Photo: Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian — before the Lakers’ playoff woes. Credit: Juan Ocampo/Andrew D. Bernstein Associates Photography