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And just like that, all of the Lamar Odom speculation is over.

Laker’s fans breathe a huge sigh of relief with this signing, as the future of the NBA champions was certainly in jeopardy. As for the Heat, who nearly succeeded in landing Odom, things in Miami still urgently need attention. Dwyane Wade in Miami after this season is far from a certainty.

And what does this signing do for LA’s chances of repeating as champs? Are they now guaranteed another championship? As I’ve stated before, I believe that the Lakers would have been the best in the league with or without Lamar Odom.

With Odom on the team alongside Ron Artest, I really can’t see any way an analyst can put any team ahead of Los Angeles when compiling pre-season power rankings. They’re simply the strongest team in the league.

Not just because they are the defending champions of the NBA, but for the fact that they have the best player in the league on their team, arguably the best defending forward in the game, a top five 7 footer in the NBA, and the best sixth man off of the bench amongst the entire league.

This is simply an unstoppable roster. I’ve never witnessed a foursome as strong as this since I began following basketball twenty years ago. And I don’t see how anyone can dispute that.

Combine all four of these players with the zen-like mastery of Phil Jackson, and no one holds a candle to the Lakers, especially in the West. Teams like Dallas and San Antonio have made some nice moves this summer, but the Lakers moved forward two steps while they all moved forward one.

This is a team that could easily win seventy or more games in 2009-2010. What would stop it short of an injury to one of their stars? This is a team destined for greatness and the rest of the NBA knows it.