After Lamar Odom's exit from Dallas was finalized, the questions about what exactly happened to end the relationship in such an odd way began. Reports surfaced Tuesdayabout a halftime confrontation between Mavs owner Mark Cuban and Odom, and Tuesday night before a win over Sacramento, Cuban spoke about the situation that erupted. From ESPN.com: 

Cuban confirmed Tuesday evening the crux of the heated halftime confrontation was Cuban questioning Odom's commitment. Odom, who had played only four minutes in the first half, reacted angrily to the question, shouting "stop playing games" several times. Odom did not take his seat on the bench until after the third quarter began.

"Well, yeah," Cuban said when asked whether that exchange was the final straw. "Just his response to it. Everybody goes through ups and downs. Every player does. We tried to put him in a position to succeed. You guys saw it, saw what we did. It didn't work.

"And I just asked him, does he want to go for it or not? Is he in or is he out? I think he thought we were playing poker. I just didn't get a commitment. And that was the end."

via Lamar Odom argued with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban - ESPN Dallas.

Cuban also told reporters that he didn't get his money's worth on Odom, while admitting that as owner it's partly his job to put each player in a position to succeed, and that he failed with Odom. 

You know it.

Odom was never able to mentally commit to the Mavericks after a rough personal year that dealt with several deaths and was troubled by the end of his relationship with the Lakers, a professional and personal situation that he was very happy with. In the days since, the discussion has turned to whether Odom's lack of commitment can be understood given his personal situation, or if Odom independently simply did not provide enough effort. The answer as always is likely in the middle.

Wherever Odom goes next, he needs to re-invest himself. You only get so many chances after a crash and burn of this magnitude for a championship team. For the Mavericks, it was a low-risk maneuver (they can easily reclaim a draft pick through trade), but a disappointing one. If the Mavericks fail to repeat, the failure of the Odom trade will only be a part of the story, but it will be part.

These things happen.