No matter what happens in the NBA season, no matter how good an NBA team may appear, teams are always shopping and looking to upgrade their squads in any which way they can.

This season the Los Angeles Lakers are coming off their first NBA title in seven years as Kobe Bryant and company were finally able to get back on top with an impressive run in the Western Conference playoffs and the domination of Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals.

Coming into this season the Lakers wanted to keep their championship team relatively still intact, but they had to sign both Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza to do just that. Even though Odom hinted to his intentions to play for the Miami Heat for a second time, Lamar was able to strike up a deal with the defending champs and remain with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Defensive specialist Trevor Ariza on the other hand, who really turned into a prime time player last season with the Los Angeles, didn’t resign with the Lakers as he was one of the most desirable free agents in the offseason. With Ariza signing a free agent contract with the Houston Rockets in the offseason, the Lakers took a huge blow to their defense, but were fortunate enough to sign Ron Artest instead and haven’t looked back since.

With Artest leading the defense, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol controlling the offense and Andrew Bynum patrolling the paint, the Los Angeles Lakers have the best record in the NBA at 32-9 and are arguably the best team in the league once again.

Despite being arguably the best team in the NBA right now, the Lakers seem to be seeking a trade to get rid of some of their baggage and save some money for the upcoming free agent market in the summer.

The first trade rumor that has been floating around involving the Los Angeles Lakers was the Toronto Raptors sending superstar Chris Bosh to Los Angeles in exchange for youngster Andrew Bynum. This deal still may go down, but no indication this is a done deal has emerged as of yet.

Another trade rumor that has just surfaced involving the defending NBA champion Lakers is a trade with the New Jersey Nets bringing point guard Devin Harris to Los Angeles. It is uncertain who the Lakers would give up in return, but the Nets are definitely going to clear house before the NBA trade deadline and apparently the Lakers are interested in the young point guard.