The welcome banner for Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian in Dallas seems to be fading, and their series, “Khloe & Lamar,” may be headed for the loss column.

Much of the focus of the E! reality show’s upcoming season will revolve around the couple’s sudden and unexpected move after the Los Angeles Lakers’ star was traded to the world champion Dallas Mavericks. But producers now also have an unexpected story to deal with — Odom’s unimpressive performance thus far with the Mavericks, who are struggling with a 2-4 record this season.

Odom’s initially uninspired play has already sparked noisy grumbles in Dallas. In his first game, he scored only four points on one-for-six shooting before being thrown out in the second half for whining about a charging call. In his second game, he made only one of 10 shots and ended up with six points. And in his third game, he only scored four points in a two-for-11 shooting disaster.

So far Odom seems to be on the opposite track that earned him the NBA’s Sixth Man award last season for being the NBA’s best player coming off the bench. Times sports writer Ben Bolch wrote about Odom’s decline last Sunday in an item with the headline, “Sixth man to nowhere man.”

And Erik Lambert of the website Gather.com said Odom has been ”a non-factor” with the Mavericks, sitting at the root of the problem for the team. Wrote Lambert: “…The 33-year-old big man has let an extended off-season and the family life with wife Khloe Kardashian ruin his drive to succeed.”

How the show will reflect Odom’s lackluster debut remains to be seen — the series ignored Odom getting tossed in the fourth game of the NBA Western Division semifinals last season against the Mavericks when he became combative with his opponents. But so far, the man that Kardashian calls “Lam Lam” has been a “dud dud.”

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— Greg Braxton

Photo: Former Lakers star Lamar Odom walks off the court in his first game with the Dallas Mavericks after being ejected in the second half against the Miami Heat on Dec. 25, 2011, in Dallas.

Credit: Larry W. Smith / EPA / Corbis Out

Guard J.J. Barea(notes) has spent his entire five-year career with the Dallas Mavericks, and he’ll be a free agent for the first time whenever the league and its players finally come to a consensus on the next CBA.

According to ESPN Dallas, Barea is feeling fairly strongly that he’ll end up returning the NBA champion Mavs. “If you want to go by percentages, I think 75 percent I’ll be back in Dallas and 25 percent something else happens,” Barea said, according to the site. “My first option is going to be Dallas.”

The 27-year-old posted career-high averages of 9.5 points, 3.9 assists, and two rebounds per game last season.

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Source: ESPN Dallas

Related: Dallas Mavericks