Wizards v/s Clippers 03/12/11 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Los Angeles Clippers guard Mo Williams has invoked his $8.5 million option for next season, clearing the way for a proposed three-way trade that will send Lamar Odom to the Clippers and Williams to Utah, Williams' agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Utah will use the trade exception it created in the Mehmet Okur deal with New Jersey this past season to take on Williams' contract. The Mavericks also will create their own trade exception worth $8.2 million by shedding Odom's contract without taking any salary back.
The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that the Clippers will send the draft rights to second-round pick Furkan Aldemir to the Houston Rockets as part of the deal, and the Mavericks will receive money from the Rockets.
All parties had essentially agreed to the deal Thursday, according to sources, but it could not proceed until Williams made a firm decision on whether to pick up his option for next season. He had until Saturday night to do so.
Two sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein the deal will be completed Friday night. Bartelstein told The Associated Press that Williams is expected to hold a news conference in Salt Lake City either Monday or Tuesday. While there was no official confirmation from the teams yet, Bartelstein said the trade was done.
Bartelstein stressed that the delay had more to do with timing, rather than any issue Williams had playing for Utah, where he began his career in 2003.
"There was no blocking going on," Bartelstein said. "When you make a decision like this, you want to study it very closely.
"But the more we looked at it, the more excited we were about going back to Utah. Mo's very happy to be going back there."
The trade will be a homecoming for Odom and Williams, who started their careers with the Clippers and Jazz, respectively.
In a text message to ESPNLosAngeles.com, Williams wrote: "It's where it all began. I'm excited about the opportunity."
Williams spoke with Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor and coach Tyrone Corbin before opting into the final year of his deal.
Friday had been the deadline in Odom's contract for Dallas to either pay $2.4 million to buy out Odom's $8.2 million salary for next season or have him on the books for 2012-13.
While Williams pondered his options, sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Mavericks and Odom had agreed to extend the buyout deadline in Odom's contract until Saturday, leaving one more day to finalize the proposed three-way trade.
The Clippers are hoping that Odom looks more like the player who won the Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011, and not the enigmatic player who shot just 35 percent from the field and averaged a career-low 6.6 points for the Mavericks last season.
