The BIG3 issued a surprising statement Wednesday to announce how the upstart 3-on-3 basketball league has cut ties with a handful of players, including Lamar Odom. BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube has since weighed in on what was behind the surprising news, especially as it relates to Odom.
The league announced in a news release that along with Odom, Baron Davis, Jermaine O’Neal and Bonzi Wells had all been “deactivated” for the rest of the season. While the statement was extensive and carefully worded, it lacked tangible, specific reasons to explain why each player was sent packing.
According to TMZ Sports sources, the move on Odom (two points and four rebounds in three games) primarily surrounded the former NBA star simply not being in game shape.
Ice Cube was recently approached by a TMZ Sports camera crew at LAX and seemed to indicate as much, saying, “You know, as a league we want players that are actually playing.”
He added that players who aren’t playing or who “can’t play” or have “health issues” that prevent them from playing really don’t have any business being on a BIG3 roster.
When asked if he was concerned about Odom, considering the serious issues in Lamar’s past … Cube replied, “Always, I love the guy.”
It merits noting how Ice Cube appeared to indicate that Odom’s ouster had nothing to do with any off-the-court issues. After all, Odom notoriously has battled drug addiction, suffering an overdose in 2015. The notion the former NBAer was cut loose by BIG3 had to do with issues only related to basketball is certainly encouraging.
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