It’s official. The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Ron Artest and resigned Shannon Brown.

The press conference with Ron Artest and Mitch Kupchak took place today.

Artest will wear jersey number 37. Where did this number come from? The story goes as follows: Artest opened up the number game to his fans. They posted various numbers and the lucky fan that won was the one that picked #37. Why was this # chosen? Apparently, Michael Jackson’s Thriller album was #1 for 37 straight weeks and in memory of Michael, Artest decided that he is in the #1 part of his career and therefore must follow in these footsteps.

Somewhat strange but I suppose we all know who Ron-Ron is. He touched on various other topics during the press conference but did make it clear that he’s here to win a championship and all he wants to do is help the team.

Also, Ron mentioned that him and Lamar Odom have been playing together since they were eight or nine years old. The media asked him if he’s talked to Kobe or Lamar and he said that he didn’t talk to Kobe until after they had already agreed to terms but he knew the relationship would work out well between himself and Bryant. He also hopes that Lamar resigns with the team because it would make the team that much stronger heading into next season.

The other good news on the day is that the Lakers signed Shannon Brown to a two year contract worth $4.2 million. It’s a great deal for both parties invovled and the future of the Lakers point guard spot looks quite promising with Brown and Farmar taking over the ropes when Fisher retires.