Losing Lamar Odom Won't Hurt the Lakers

All the pundits and fans are wringing out their crying towels. Oh, what a tragedy is the Lakers lose Lamar Odom. What a terrible deal it amounts to! Odom and Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest. It’s just not worth it, they cry. You lose two and get only one in return. But that one player that you get is worth the other two. Why? Because he WANTS to be a Laker. And he doesn’t care about the money. The other two just wanted their egos stroked. Show me how important I am to this team by putting out some extra loot. Well, I’m glad Jerry Buss showed Ariza and Odom how important they were. He let Ariza go without a second thought and brought in Artest. He also pulled the offer to Odom, who showed his appreciation by actually considering offers from other teams worth far less money. Buss proved once again that no one is going to hold him hostage even if he has to break up the team. He did it back in 2004 and he will do it again if he has to. And good for him. So, the pundits cry...