Over the last week, the Dallas Mavericks have been aggressively trying to deal Lamar Odom in order to clear salary cap space to sign Deron Williams.
The LA Clippers have coveted Odom for awhile, but the Mavericks have been uninterested in picking up the salary of Mo Williams, which LA would need to dump to pick up the former Sixth Man of the Year.
Now, according to a report from ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Utah Jazz have emerged as the third team in the deal, as they have the salary cap space to absorb Williams' contract without sending anything back to Dallas or LA.
The Jazz could use some perimeter shooting to open up the floor for their roster of big men. With Al Jefferson, Paul Millsapp, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter on their roster, Utah runs more offense through the post than almost anyone else in the NBA, which would be a perfect fit with Williams, a spot-up shooter whose not a great playmaker off the dribble.
Dallas, totally focused on salary cap space, has reportedly declined the Jazz offer of former Maverick Devin Harris, preferring to walk away from the disastrous Odom experiment with as few strings attached as possible.
The deal now depends on Williams, who will need to exercise his $8.5 million player option and forgo free agency.
For all the latest news and notes on the Mavericks free agency plans, stay tuned to the SB Nation Dallas story-stream as well as Mavs Moneyball.