The Summer of 2012 has already brought plenty of joy and pleasure to Lakers fans. Few things can be better than enjoying a few drinks with friends, hanging by the pool, celebrating our Nation’s Independence and all of the sudden finding out that Steve Nash is the newest Laker.

Steve Nash isn’t just a Lakers though. He isn’t just our starting point guard. He isn’t just the best point guard to play for the Lakers since… dare I say… Magic Johnson? He isn’t just one of our most hated rivals over the past decade. Steve Nash is all of these things, but most importantly, he’s brilliant.

With a team composed of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, you are no short of fire power on the offensive end and well equipped defensively, especially after you throw Metta World Peace into the mix. But, Steve Nash adds an entirely different dimension to this team.

When was the last time you saw Kobe take a wide open jumper? I can’t remember, so lets just skip to the point… Steve Nash will allow Kobe to become a spot up shooter at times. Pau Gasol will fit brilliantly in the pick and roll, while Bynum will surely benefit from a pass first point guard as well.

After the wonderful 4th of July celebration, we went to sleep with a smile. We knew Laker Nation is back in the mix of things.

Just a few days later, Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss, the constantly criticized Lakers front office executives, signed Antawn Jamison. Jamison averaged 17 points last season while playing for one of the first teams in the league. He actually played out of position most of the season switching between minutes at the 2, 3 and 4 spots. With all that said, he was still a scoring machine and a big boost for the Cavs.

In Los Angeles, Jamison will have the opportunity to become a spot up shooter with Steve Nash feeding him the ball in his desired spots. Jamison will be a threat off the bench, perhaps even a starter if World Peace starts off the same way he did last season (lets hope its more like the end of his season, and no, I’m not referring to the elbow incident).

After these two new acquisitions, the Lakers chose not to amnesty Metta, they resigned Darius Morris, Devin Ebanks, and Jordan Hill. According to my calculations, we have a 12 man roster and still hold the mini-mid level exception for another free agent signing. Will we use it, who knows, but it’s certainly not worth making any moves just to make them. With Matt Barnes becoming a free agent this summer and the Lakers lacking a serious backup at the 2-guard spot behind Kobe, there is likely one spot left to fill, unless Ebanks is prepared to take the next step in his development.

It’s August 1 and the Lakers have a formidable team to compete in the NBA for the 2013 NBA Title. With that said, these are the Lakers we are talking about. The team that acquired Kobe Bryant for Vlade Divac. The team that acquired Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown. The team that acquired Steve Nash for a Lamar Odom trade exception and 4 draft picks (not sure which one is the biggest steal). The beauty of all these deals is they are all within the last 2 decades… all of our “stolen players” are now on the same team!

We don’t truly know what the remainder of the Summer has in store, but I’m a betting man and am entirely confident the Lakers execs will do everything necessary to pursue the title!