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Regardless of any off season upgrades the Lakers looked to be one of the top teams if not the favorite to win the Western Conference. Then the rumor and proposed trade that had Chris Paul coming to town had Laker fans even more excited about the 2011-2012 NBA season and into the future.

The Paul trade was declined by David Stern and although Los Angeles fans are still rejoicing it is Clipper fans, not Laker fans that are excited about Chris Paul. Then popular Lamar Odom was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, which has led to Kobe Bryant being frustrated. This is not exactly how first year coach Mike Brown wanted to start off his Laker tenure in replacing the legendary Phil Jackson who won an NBA record 11 NBA Championships.

When you step back and look at the big picture the top 6 players are Kobe, Pau Gasol, Derrick Fisher, Andrew Bynum, Matt Barnes and Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest). With Coach Brown being a solid defensive coach, that is still a competitive group.

The Los Angeles Lakers are still a very proud franchise that has won 16 NBA title, second only to the Boston Celtics. Jerry Buss is still very committed to winning and the Lakers may look to land another marquee player like Dwight Howard. As long as Kobe is in town the Lakers will continue to be an attractive and competitive team.