Ted Green: Why would anyone want to leave the Lakers?

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I’m not saying what you’re about to read is based on anything other than instinct and an odd feeling I have. It may be 1,000% wrong. File this under ... Just Asking:

Is anyone else completely befuddled, even flummoxed by the Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza situations? That was rhetorical. Everyone is.

Are these not the most inexplicable ‘negotiations’ you have seen in a long, long time?

I am as baffled as I’ve ever been trying to get my arms around the reasons why:

A) Ariza, an L.A. guy who attended high school and college here, would leave home, turn his back on the Lakers and say a quick and unceremonious goodbye to a championship team and a seemingly ideal professional situation, just for a few extra dollars in ... Houston? A Rockets team likely to be without both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady? A team whose likeliest 2010 destination is the lottery?

B) And why would Odom possibly accept a midlevel exception of $5.8 million per year when the Lakers have definitely offered him $10 million per season? Doesn’t that seem off-the-hook strange? Even if the total Miami money over five years is around the same as either Lakers’ package, the three- or four-year deals, why in the wacky world of Lamar would he leave a championship situation where the role is tailor-made for him? No major scoring responsibility, no huge minutes if everyone’s healthy, but more potential for titles with THE big-market, glamor NBA franchise, plus lots of love from a city that reveres the Lakers like rock stars?

Tell me, does any of this make any sense to you at all? Of course it doesn’t. Have you seen even one remotely plausible explanation from anyone inside or outside the Lakers organization?

And in Ariza’s case, don’t tell me it was the acquisition of Artest. The Lakers offered Ariza a new contract before they signed the flamboyant former Rocket.

So why then? Could it be, and important to reiterate, no proof here, nothing to base this on, just asking: Could it be that these two low-key, soft-spoken forwards, neither of whom has that kill-or-be-killed mentality, no longer want (or in Trevor’s case, wanted) the relentless pressure of playing with, and satisfying, Kobe Bryant?

I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.

Kobe does set the bar exceedingly high for all his teammates and even higher for himself. He does not abide mistakes, mental errors, lack of full effort or losses well at all. When you mess up, you’ll hear it, loud and in both ears. And when nothing less than another championship is going to make anyone around here happy, it doesn’t exactly allow for an easygoing workplace, an atmosphere of tranquility and relaxation, to which Odom and Ariza seem to be so well-suited.

For those of you who follow the NBA and admire the Lakers, I know, you can’t fathom not wanting to be here, not wanting to be in position for rings, not wanting the adrenaline rush that comes with the push for 60-plus wins. What real competitor wouldn’t want a postseason in which every game matters and your heart, body and pride are on the line every night?

Unless, of course, you’ve already got your ring and you can get the same long money without having the best player on your team up in your grill.

Understand, I admire the natural born killer in Kobe, love it, actually, so I don’t like this central theory any more than you do. In some ways, I hate that I even thought of it, much less wrote it for the L.A. Times.

Still, I’m not buying that Odom and Ariza have dumb, shoddy, unprofessional representation or agents who overplayed their hand against Jerry Buss. No agent in his right mind would advise a client to walk away from the Lakers as they are right now. Not if he wanted to retain a shred of league-wide credibility.

Because, think about it, if Ariza ends up lost in space in Houston and Odom disappears into the Bermuda Triangle off the coast of Florida with the mediocre Heat, both distinct endgame possibilities, what college blue chipper in his right mind would ever hire either one of the agents representing Odom and Ariza?

So because I can’t think of one reason, nevermind a good reason, why both Ariza and Odom seemed to not be excited about continuing in purple and gold, if someone else has a different explanation from the one I just laid out, I would love to hear it. And you know where to find me. Right here, confused as ever.

-- Ted Green

Green formerly covered the Lakers for the L.A. Times. He is currently senior sports producer for KTLA Prime News.

Top photo: Trevor Ariza takes in the moment during the Lakers’ championship parade on June 17. Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press