Is Lamar Odom finally ready to make a lifestyle change? The troubled NBA player, whose alleged recent drug use has left him jobless and estranged from wife Khloe Kardashian, gave some somber advice to a 7-year-old fan who approached him at a restaurant this week. 
According to TMZ, the kid approached Odom and asked for a photograph. The former Los Angeles Clippers player refused but offered to sign an autograph and chat with the youngster for a few minutes. Odom advised the kid to stay in school, play basketball and — most ironically — to stay away from drugs. 
Odom must have bonded with the kid, because he then consented to the photo. 
It seems the athlete has been in an uncharacteristically chatty mood lately. After his Twitter rant against comments made by his father Joe Odom, Lamar actually opened up to a paparazzo during a lunch date with a friend in Los Angeles on Monday. Joking and in seemingly good spirits, Odom declared that "the only way to be a champion is to eat healthy." When asked if he is planning a return to the NBA, he said, “We’ll take things day by day. That’s all you can do."

When the shutterbug wished him good luck for his return to the court, Odom said, "it’s not about basketball.” He continued, “to some people basketball is life, but to some people family is life, finances, success, whatever it may be...It’s all about treating people good, being a nice guy. And I’ve always been that.”
Odom even commented — albeit vaguely — about the state of his marriage to Khloe Kardashian. “My man, do you see my wedding ring?” he joked.
The impromptu interview, posted on TMZ, ended on a light note when the paparazzo asked Odom why tabloids make up stories about him. "Because I'm too handsome," he said.
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(Photo: MAP/Splash News)