Lamar Odom Has Been TRADED To The Dallas Mavericks

 CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE

IT'S OFFICIAL -- the Los Angeles Lakers are dumping Lamar Odom ... HARD -- and now, the left-handed forward is packing his bags for Dallas.

The Lakers traded Lamar yesterday to the Mavericks -- last year's champs -- and abandoned their bid for Hornets star Chris Paul in the process.

The Lakers had previously sought Chris Paul as well as Dwight Howard to create their own Big Three with Kobe Bryant -- but now, the team is just focusing on acquiring Howard ... a big relief to the rest of the Western Conference.

So far, no word from Lamar on the shake-up -- but as we previously reported ... his wife Khloe Kardashian is ready to follow him wherever he goes.