Los Angeles Lakers Are Better Without Lamar Odom Kardashian

Lamar Odom's childish fit over his rumored trade to the New Orleans Hornets may have saved the Lakers season.

The Los Angeles Lakers are better off without Odom and the Kardashian baggage he carried into the locker room.

Fancloud.com's NBA Chatter page first revealed Odom was traded to the Dallas Mavericks last month in an apparent salary dump. Many Lakers were outraged, along with Kobe Bryant, as they saw their title window closing in on them.

But the Lakers later signed Josh McRoberts and picked up a few other nice pieces to fill out the roster. They now have a no-nonsense and hard-working team.

The Lakers have become a blue-collar team the fans can relate to. You wont find any reality show cameras in the hallways of the Staples Center.

In the opening weeks of the season, the Lakers have shown grit and determination. They dive for lose balls, play intense defense and pound the boards harder than ever before. There is a different feeling surrounding this version of the Lakers. They are drama free. They are free from the level of drama that only follows Odom and the Kardashian family he married into.

There is no doubt Odom is an extremely talented player when he wants to be. That being said, he brought a laid-back and lazy culture to the Lakers. Without him, they were able to adopt a new identity. 

Kobe Bryant, Mike Brown and the Blue-Collar Lakers are now in the driver's seat to represent the West in the 2012 NBA Finals.