When it was all said and done, the Lakers did right by Jordan Farmar Wednesday when they declined to give the restricted guard a one-year, $2.8 million contract offer.

Because now Farmar gets exactly what he wants: Unrestricted free agency and an opportunity to shop himself around the NBA as a potential starting point guard.

Farmar and his agent asked the Lakers not to exercise their right to make the offer, which essentially means they will receive nothing in return if Farmar does leave as a free agent.

Had they done so, the Lakers could have matched any contract offer made to Farmar by other teams, severely limiting his maneuverability.

“I really appreciate what they did, because they didn’t have to, they could have treated me like a piece of real estate and potentially hurt my ability to take a serious look at what might be out there for me,” Farmar said by phone Wednesday. “So for that, I am thankful.”

The move doesn’t officially end Farmar’s Lakers career, which began four years ago when they drafted him in the first round out of UCLA and spanned three NBA Finals appearances and two world championships, but it’s very likely he won’t be back next season.

By all indications, the Lakers will bring back Derek Fisher, which would have meant another year as a backup rather than a starting job for Farmar.

And at this point in his career, the former Taft of Woodland Hills star wants a chance to branch out as a starter, to find out if he can be an upper-echelon point guard in the NBA, preferably with a team that runs an up-tempo offense rather than the slower triangle.

“That’s my goal, and I want to see what opportunities are out there for me as a starter,” Farmar said. “I know there is interest, and I’m looking forward to exploring my options. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to.”

Farmar, 23, is grateful for his time with his hometown Lakers, and if he does move on he will look back on his career in Los Angeles with fondness.

“I love everything about the organization, my teammates and this city,” Farmar said. “But ultimately I want a chance to start, and it’s something I looked forward to every single year here, but it just never happened. All I’ve ever wanted was a legitimate chance to start.”

Now he may finally get it.

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

Ron Artest continues to bask in the aftermath of the Lakers win over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, and in the process he is giving fans a chance to see a different side of him.

Artest has been busy since the Finals doing the TV talk-show circuit and making the radio rounds, and on Friday he helped kick off MH+L magazine’s release party with a live performance of his new Rap single “Champions” along with Rap star and producer T-Pain.

I have to say, Ron looked pretty comfortable up on stage as he performed in front of about 300 or so VIP guests at J Lounge in downtown L.A.

The song, which he actually cut last year shortly after the Lakers ousted his Houston Rockets in seven games in the Western Conference playoffs, is not bad at all, and Ron seemed very much in his element while performing it.

“It’s funny because this is a side of me not too many fans know exists, but this is the music I love and people are slowly starting to recognize that I’m pretty decent, that I can do it,” Artest said.

As far as any stage fright, you can forget it. Artest looked more comfortable up there then he did playing in the triangle offense earlier this season.

“Initially I get a little nervous, but as soon as I hit the stage and the fans go crazy, boom, I am ready to go,” he said.

Artest is obviously enjoying his new-found celebrity, but he understands it all starts with what happens on the basketball court.

And it obviously doesn’t hurt he now calls Los Angeles home, and the team he plays for just happens to be the world champions.

“I’m just blessed to be in Los Angeles playing for the Lakers. The city makes the Lakers and the Lakers make me, and without any of that, there isn’t any of this,” Artest said. “And now that I have been blessed to win a championship, to be a champion, it’s given me the opportunity to come out here and perform and gave some fun.”

Music and rapping has always been a part of Artest’s life, a chance for him to express himself through his writing and performing.

“It’s something I’ve always enjoyed,” Artest said. “It comes from the heart, being able to go up there on stage and touch some people. I really love it.

“The key for me is keeping it real and trying to be inspirational. It’s not an easy thing, taking your feelings and your words and trying to make a song people will like. But I enjoy the process.”

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

I spoke with someone inside the Lakers organization who said Mitch Kupchak and Lamar Odom agent Jeff Schwartz have been in steady contact since the Lakers pulled their latest contract offer to Lamar last week.

Although the Lakers insider didn’t describe the contact as “negotiations” obviously they aren’t talking about summer vacation plans.

This jives with reports that talks have heated up in recent days, although the insider did say he didn’t sense anything had significantly changed.

On the other hand, the fact that they are talking means both sides are open to a resolution, and when two sides are motivated things can come together quickly.

In any event, I should be getting an update later this afternoon, and if anything is cooking I’ll post it as soon as I can.

Our good friend Jim Hill over at KCBS is reporting that Lamar Odom personally called Lakers’ owner Dr. Jerry Buss Thursday to try and rebuild any bridges damaged by Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, during contract negotiations.

Dr. Buss pulled his last offer to Odom off the table earlier this week after Schwartz didn’t respond back. Looks like Lamar might be taking charge of the negotiations, or at least trying to bring Dr. Buss and the Lakers back to the table.

Stay tuned.

I know, Lakers fans. Things are going great, right? Fantastic, really.

But how good are the Lakers?

Looks like we’re going to find over the next two weeks or so.

Once Kobe and Co. get through Sacramento (tomorrow), the Clippers (Friday) Sacramento (Sunday) and Toronto (Tue, Mar. 11), they’ll face the toughest stretch of the season.

Road games at New Orleans (Mar. 14), Houston (Mar. 16), Dallas (Mar. 18) and Utah (Mar. 20) will tell the story.

It’s not make or break – and we all know we can’t truly assess this team until Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza return – but it sure will be interesting to see how the Lakers fare on the road against teams with a combined 155-82 record.

By the way, while yesterday’s 52-point performance by Kobe was reminiscent of a number of scoring explosions he’s had in the Post Shaq era – and that wasn’t always a good thing. But Lakers fans can take comfort in this observation:

Prior to this season – and specifically the arrival of Pau Gasol – it was almost required that Kobe carry that sort of load for the Lakers to be successful. Even when he did, there was no guarantee the Lakers would prevail.

Now, it’s almost a luxury.

When the Lakers are getting production throughout the lineup, as they have pretty much the whole year, they don’t need Kobe to go off.

But it sure is nice to know Kobe can still dial it up a notch when the rest of the team is struggling – as was the case yesterday.