With John Paxson having a U.S.A. versus Canada upper hand on Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler and a Michael Finley sweepstakes that seems to be more befitting of a Hall of Famer, we are now entering the official dead zone month of September.

There are a few stragglers that still need to be signed, but for the most part, rosters are as they will be when training camp begins in October when we will do team-by-team season outlooks.

Here are some things that I hoped to see this offseason that didn?t come true.

A Paul Pierce trade
Does this not seem like an inevitably?  

Could New England lose Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, Ty Law and Paul Pierce in a single 365?  

If the Nets have a double-digit lead on the Celtics in February, there is no way that Pierce doesn?t get moved.

I would have traded him this summer if I were running the club.  He would be a natural fit with the Clippers and they needed a top tier swingman and there is no doubt that Mike Dunleavy/Elgin Baylor would have preferred Pierce over Cuttino Mobley.

Instead of acquiring Dan Dickau to be whatever they think he will become, I would have grabbed Marko Jaric and change.

A Kevin Garnett trade
Does this not seem like an inevitably?

Could Minnesota lose Randy Moss and Kevin Garnett in a single 365?

If the Sonics/Nuggets have a double-digit lead on the Wolves in February, there is no way that Garnett doesn?t get moved.

His patience with the Wolves is as thin as Lindsay Lohan.

Cleveland getting younger in the frontcourt
I?m not sure whether the Cavaliers stuck with Ilgauskas at center because they thought that Dalembert, Chandler and Curry would be impossible to pry or whether Danny Ferry simply believes in his stability, but if I were in charge of putting a dynasty-caliber team around LBJ, I would have gone younger.  

Ilgauskas will become the Bill Cartwright of the first half of Lebron?s career, but I don?t know if a combination of Drew Gooden/Donyell Marshall stacks up to Horace Grant.

Marshall is the most overrated of the supposed underrated players in the league.  His game is clearly the most similar to Robert Horry, but let?s not for one single minute confuse the two players.  Marshall may have better career numbers, but when he was playing for horrible Warriors? teams, mediocre Jazz teams, horrible Bulls? teams and horrible Raptors? teams, Horry was hitting clutch shot, after clutch shot on his way to six titles.  

Granted, both are 6-9 power forwards that stand on the perimeter waiting to hit wide open threes.  Just take a look at Marshall?s offensive rebounding numbers to get an idea of how lazy he is on this end of the floor.

Phoenix stands pat

As much as I can?t argue with Bryan Colangelo?s moves this summer, I would have liked to see the Suns preserve the status quo and make another run at the Spurs.  Could that team ever get past San Antonio?  Maybe not, but the 2004-2005 Phoenix team was one of the most exciting clubs ever assembled and while they might be more equipped for playoff basketball, replacing Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson with Kurt Thomas and Raja Bell doesn?t exactly make you thrilled on an entertainment level.

Pistons call Brown's bluff
I wanted to see Larry Brown return to the Detroit bench.  He claimed he wanted to and I thought for a second there that they would call his bluff and force him to return.  Could that possibly affect the club?  I don't think it would have.  Their starting-five are a collection some of the most professional head-strong guys that have been assembled over the last 25 years.

Michael Redd leaves Milwaukee
Unless you live in Milwaukee, have league pass or have been sure to watch your local team play against them, you have never seen Michael Redd play.

I have league pass and I still haven't seen him play more than twice.  

The Bucks are mysteriously not on a single nationally televised game this season.  When was the last time the team with the number one overall pick didn't get a single televised game?  

Careers unfortunately die in Milwaukee, a great sports town that's just a little too close to Chicago.

Christopher Reina can be reached at [email protected].