Lakers Were Fine With Or Without Odom

Since the Lakers took home championship No. 15 back in June, all anyone could talk about was the importance of re-signing reserve forward Lamar Odom. Even with the addition of the tough and loose-minded Ron Artest, people felt it was imperative to bring back the unrestricted free agent. Odom provided a great spark off the bench for Los Angeles throughout the playoffs. Many felt that without him, tittle defense would not be as easy.

As a fellow Queens native and former AAU teammate, Ron Artest made efforts to persuade Odom to stay out west while he flirted with the possibility of reuniting with Dwyane Wade in Miami. Kobe Bryant never even believed he would leave in the first place. Even still, the Lakers faithful were trembling from the fear of him bolting for South Beach. For ...

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