Lamar Odom Opts Out of 2012 Olympic Games

Veteran NBA forward Lamar Odom has decided he will not participate in the 2012 Olympic games in London.

Odom, who was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in June, had previously been expected to take part in training camp this week but opted out, saying he would rather work with trainers in L.A. and focus on the upcoming season with his new team, according to a report by the Sporting News.

“While it is unfortunate to have lost the players we have, Coach Krzyzewski and I remain extremely confident with the group of players we’ll have at our training camp in Las Vegas,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said. “We believe that we will still have an outstanding collection of talent and that ultimately we will have another team that all Americans will be excited about and proud of.”

Odom’s withdrawal comes on the heels of recent No.1 NBA draft pick Anthony Davis’ ankle injury and leaves the Americans with 15 players to fill the final 12 roster spots.

Besides Davis, the remaining players that are expected to report to camp Thursday in Las Vegas are: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Andre Iguodala, James Harden and Eric Gordon.

ESPN reports that nine of the 12 roster spots have already been secured by former Olympic and World Championship players (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Deron Williams, all of who were on the 2008 gold-medal team at Beijing, and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler from the 2010 World Championship team), which means six athletes will battle for the last 3 slots.

The six remaining players are James Harden, Eric Gordon, Davis, Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala and Blake Griffin.

According to Fox News, The team will open training with a camp in Las Vegas, starting July 5. The 2012 USA Basketball Team’s 12-man roster will be announced after the team’s practice on July 7.

Image: CBS