Should the Lakers Trade Lamar Odom for Ron Artest?

Now that the NBA free agent season is officially open and all the NBA GMs (including Mitch Kupchak even though he says there will be no moves) will be looking to improve their squads from a very talented group of free agents like Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis and Elton Brand just to name a few.

Trade talks for prime time players will also be circulating around the league all summer long, some deals have already gone down like Jermaine O'Neal going to Toronto and Richard Jefferson heading to Milwaukee, but will the Lakers being looking to finally move Lamar Odom and go after Ron Artest?

The biggest question going into the Lakers off season so far has been what to do with Lamar Odom. There is no question Odom is an unbelievable talent with a huge upside, but his inconsistency just killed the Lakers in the NBA finals and a lot of Lakers fans are hoping the small forward get moved before next season, hopefully for a player with a more defensive mind set which was sorely lacking against the Boston Celtics.

The only player the Lakers have been rumored to be going after is Sacramento Kings defensive specialist and head case Ron Artest.

Personally, I love Ron Artest's game. He is a solid defender who plays at a high level every night and can be a solid scoring threat when need be. If he were dealt to Los Angeles he would fit in perfectly and should fill the defensive void for the Lakers. The only downside with Artest is his attitude and unpredictability for just losing control, kind of like a modern day Dennis Rodman.

I think he is exactly what the Lakers need, Lamar Odom has had his shot, at times he showed flashes of brilliance, but he is just too streaky and a defensive liability. So thanks for everything LO, but it is time to go a different direction and go after Ron Artest. It may or not happen, but from what I am hearing, although the Kings would like to make a deal within the same division, the Lakers have Ron Artest on their radar.