Lakers, Don't Make Kobe's Contract Extension Talk Into a Lamar Odom Fiasco

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a busy offseason thus far. The Lakers front office swapped Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest and has re-signed Lamar Odom.

They are also expected to tackle contract extension talks with Kobe Bryant later on this month.

I expect the negotiations to go smoothly, but we can never be certain.

I expected the Lamar Odom's re-signing to be smooth as ice or at least as smooth as the surface of a wooden table, but we know how it really went.

First, the rescinding of Odom's contract. Coupled with very heated tension between both parties (Lamar Odom and Los Angeles Lakers) and added with the constant pestering of another party (Miami Heat), it turned into a roller coaster of a ride to say the least.

We are talking about Kobe, though, not Odom.

The man who is the face of the Lakers franchise.

The man who the Lakers' chose instead of Shaquille O'Neal.

A global icon, especially in Asia, Kobe.

He has the Lakers franchise wrapped around his fingers the way LeBron James has the Cavaliers future success in the palms of his freakishly large hands.

Kobe's number one priority right now is to repeat, so I don't think the talks his going to have with the Lakers are going to be the same hardball type of negotiations like Odom.

But anything can happen in Hollywood.