After winning their 15th NBA Championship with a 2008-09 roster full of talented players, the Lakers most important decision for the 2009 post-season seamed to be how much money they wanted to spend to re-sign free agents Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom. But in a very unexpected move they stopped negotiations with Ariza and signed Ron Artest. Later Lamar Odom agreed to stay in L.A. and so did Shannon Brown.

Other than that, Kobe decided not to opt out of his contract and by the end of the regular season, and with a core group of players under contract for the next 3 years, Kobe signed a 3-year extension on top of his two remaining years, meaning he could be a Laker for life and that the team has a bright future ahead. Phil Jackson said he's healthy and will be the coach this season.

No other major changes are expected on a roster that performed great and even won a championship with players such as Sasha Vujacic and Andrew Bynum playing well below what was expected from them. Their improvement and Artest arrival should be more than enough for the Lakers to be a contender again in 2009-10 despite missing Ariza.

Rumors
It was though that after the 2009 playoffs the Lakers would have to decide between unrestricted free agents Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom, players that were both key parts of the 2009 Championship roster. The Lakers decided to bring Ron Artest, let Trevor Ariza go and after many comings and goings Odom agreed to stay, and basically all rumors are over. On top of that Kobe a signed a three-year extension which means the Lakers have have a core group of Bryant, Gasol, Bynum, Artest and Odom under contract for at least the next 3 seasons. / Rumors archive

Ron Artest
After Ariza rejected their first offer, the Lakers didn't wasted any time and agreed to terms with small forward Ron Artest. He is one of the best defenders in the NBA, he is very tough and have good scoring skills, averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Rockets last season and seemed very happy to be a Laker despite having to take a pay cut after making $7.4 million in 2009. The Lakers gave Artest a 5-year deal using the team's mid-level exception that will pay him a total of $33.95 million with a player option for the last year..

It will be a risky experiment for L.A. While Artest is a better player than Ariza, he is also very volatile and has a history of on and off-court problems (remember him starting the brawl with the fans in Detroit?). It is also fair to say that he has almost been a model citizen last season at Houston and Phil Jackson won 3 championships while coaching a similar player named Dennis Rodman. The big question is how he will fit in a Laker roster that won the 2009 title with a no-drama philosophy.

Kobe Bryant
After winning his 4th championship with a team full of talent, Kobe decided not to opt out of his contract and is expected to sign three-year extension on top of his two remaining years (2009-10 and 2010-11). He will make a guaranteed $47.8 million over the next 2 years.

April 2, 2010 Update: Kobe signed a 3-year, $83.5 million contract extension to remain with the Lakers for the next 4 seasons. With this extension, that includes a no-trade clause (meaning he can say no to a trade), Kobe will be a Laker until the end of the 2013-14 season. He will earn earn $25.2 million in 2011-12, $27.8 million in 2012-13 and $30.5 million in his final year, when he turns 35.

Phil Jackson
Jackson, who turns 64 in September, successfully completed a battery of medical tests and confirmed the team that he will be the coach in 2009-10. In fact Jackson was under contract for this season and will earn $12 million but he had to evaluate his health before giving a final answer. Jackson, missed a game in Portland late in the 2008-09 regular season because of painful swelling in his lower right leg and in previous years he has had both hips replaced and underwent an angioplasty procedure to open a clogged artery in his heart. One option being considered is the Jackson could skip some road games that would be coached by assistant Kurt Rambis.

Lamar Odom
Odom, who was a key piece of Los Angeles's run to the 2009 championship, earned $14 million last season and became an unrestricted free agent. He agreed to a big pay cut by accepting a 4-year $33 million contract with a team option for the final year. The negotiations weren't easy. The Lakers initially presented two offers -- one was a 4-year deal for $9 million a season, the other was a 3-year, $30-million deal that would have paid Odom $10 million a season. But tired of waiting for an answer, team owner Jerry Buss pulled the deals off the table. The talks restarted a week later while Odom was considering an offer from his former team the Miami Heat.

Odom, who arrived to the Lakers for the 2004-05 season as a part of the Shaquille O'Neal trade, in 2008-09 accepted his role of coming from the bench for most of the season but usually played the minutes of an starting player and was on the floor at the end of games.

Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga
The Lakers picked up team options for Powell and Mbenga who will be payed $959,111 each in the 2009-10 season.

Shannon Brown
He was an unrestricted free agent and declined a more lucrative offer from Indiana to stay with the Lakers with a to a two-year, $4.2-million deal, with a player option for the second year.

Sun Yue
The Lakers waived the 6-foot-9 guard from China who was their second round pick in the 2007 NBA draft. He was a member of the championship roster last year, but played only 28 minutes in 10 games, scored a total of 6 points and spent part of the season in the Development League. The Lakers held a $736,000 option on Sun for the 2009-10 season.

1st round: Having ended second in the 2008-09 season the Lakers had the 29th pick. They traded it to the New York Knicks for $3 million and a 2011 second-round selection, making it the second year in a row without a first round pick. The player selected was point guard Toney Douglas.

2nd round: L.A. had two picks in the second round. The 42nd overall, Patrick Beverly, was sent to the Miami Heat for $1.5 million and a 2011 second-round selection. Then with the 59th pick the Lakers took 6-foot-10 Texas A&M center Chinemelu Elonu but he didn't make the 2009-10 roster

Note: The Lakers sold two of their picks as a part of their strategy to re-sign Ariza and Odom and by doing this they made a $6.2 million difference: $4.5 million received for the picks and $1.7 million over two years that are guaranteed to every player selected in the first round.

Also the team plans to have only 13 players on their 2009-10 roster, the league minimum.