After the initial surge of free-agent signings that put Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva in Detroit, Ron Artest in Los Angeles, Hedo Turkoglu in Toronto and Shawn Marion in Dallas, there?s been uncertainty for the remaining team-less players. Inconsistent progress in contract negotiations has left players like the (relatively) high-profile Lamar Odom still unsure whether he?ll be a Laker again this coming season.

Other cases, like Andre Miller?s signing in Portland, have taken a while but have changed the way both conferences will play out in 09-10 and beyond. From sure-fire starters to key backups, many of this year?s most important free agents have just been signing their deals this past week or are still undecided on their destinations.

Jarrett Jack, PG/SG, Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors signed Indiana guard Jarrett Jack to a four-year, $20 million contract. The move shores up a Raptors backcourt depleted by the loss of veteran off-guard Anthony Parker to Cleveland and also entrenches another young player in the Raptors? backcourt (Parker was the Raptors' oldest player at 34, while Jack is only 25). However, with four years in the league already, Jack provides enough experience that he can step into the Raptors' rotation right away.

Jack's game is well-suited to the Raptors' needs. Known for his perimeter defense, which the Raptors currently lack, he will be able to spell starting point guard Jose Calderon's much-reported sieve-like qualities. In keeping his man in front of him, Jack will also allow Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani to focus on their own defensive assignments instead of having to bail out beaten teammates.

A slasher on a team full of shooters, Jack will draw attention away from the perimeter, forcing defenses to adjust to a multi-pronged backcourt attack. Considering the propensity of most of the team's players, including its starting center in Bargnani, to stand out on the perimeter, this helps immensely. Defenders will have to play off of Jack, giving him more space so he won't be able to blow by them, in which he can find a shooter or take a shot himself (he averaged 35.3% from three last year, his highest as a pro.)

He has also proved able to play big minutes either as a starter or off the bench, and the Raptors could use him in either role. He has averaged over 33 minutes per game twice in his career, putting up respectable averages of 12.0 points per game and 5.3 assists while in Portland in 2006-07 and 13.1 points, 4.1 assists and a career-high 3.4 rebounds in Indiana last year. In Toronto, he could take the vacant off-guard spot, letting 19-year old rookie DeMar DeRozan develop gradually. Alternately, DeRozan or potential re-acquisition Carlos Delfino could start at shooting guard while Jack assumes his presumable ending point of backing up both guard spots.

Jack, a former teammate of Bosh when they played at Georgia Tech, told the Indianapolis Star that his stint with the Raptors ?will be like freshman year? all over again?. Jack's signing is the latest in a series of moves that general manager Bryan Colangelo has made to improve the team this summer in the likely hope of retaining Bosh. (Jack has apparently been bugging Bosh to stay in Toronto already.) Bosh will likely not exercise his player option next summer and he will then be one of the most sought-after players in a free-agency class that could also include LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Andre Miller, PG, Portland Trail Blazers

Andre Miller, a 33-year old floor general of the truest sense, should age well enough to last through the $21 million, three-year deal he signed with Portland on Friday. General manager Kevin Pritchard?s press-release statement that Miller is ?one of the league?s ironmen? plays into the justification of signing a player who will turn 36 before his contract expires; he currently holds the NBA?s iron man streak at 501 consecutive games played, dating back to his days in Denver.

Portland will be his fifth team in ten years ? he hasn?t escaped the first round, yet the ?veteran leadership? he plans to bring will be highly valuable in on-the-court situations. His game, predicated on court vision rather than athleticism, will fit well with Portland?s young big men. LaMarcus Aldridge will likely be the most obvious beneficiary of Miller?s presence, as the power forward has the shooting ability to be the recipient on a pick-and-pop play and also the agility to cut to the hoop quickly. Greg Oden, already looking like a defensive and rebounding phenom but with a need to be more involved in Nate MacMillan?s offense, has never played with a passer as deft as Miller.

Playing for the otherwise young Trail Blazers should give Miller a chance to re-up his assist average from its flagging 6.5 per game last year, a positive sign for Blazer fans and fantasy owners alike. His rebounds (4.5 in 08-09, 4.3 career) and steals (1.3 in ?08/?09, 1.4 career) are also considerably better than incumbent Steve Blake?s (2.5 and 1.0 respectively, both career-high-tying). Blake?s outside shooting will be missed in the starting lineup, especially considering its tendency to combine well with Roy?s playmaking skills. Therein lies the benefit of signing a player outright instead of pursuing a sign-and-trade: the Blazers can now play the more than competent Blake as their first guard off the bench.

In addition to statistics, Miller?s significantly better man-on defense will make him and Roy a difficult pair to face on both ends of the court. Both tip the scales at over 200 pounds, both are smart players who don?t make too many mistakes, and either can run the offense while the other rests. For those anticipating another season of improvement from the Blazers, this is the splash that could get them there ? as long as they ensure that they rotate shooters through their lineup.

Unsolved Mysteries

General managers can look at these two signings, both for reasonable amounts, and conclude that the dwindling market might still provide opportunity. The players most mentioned who are still unsigned are the aforementioned Lamar Odom, one of the game?s most versatile forwards, and David Lee, who will probably be the closest thing the Knicks have to a franchise player until at least the summer of 2010. Allen Iverson and Ramon Sessions, two drastically different players at virtually opposite ends of their careers, are the best remaining guards.

The Lakers will need to keep Odom, with Trevor Ariza gone to Houston and Ronny Turiaf readying to enter his second season in Golden State. The team?s frontcourt depth would be miserable without him, with only Josh Powell playing behind Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Bynum?s injury history doesn?t help this ? he?s only played 85 games over the team?s last two seasons. A team coming fresh off of a championship will not want to suddenly have a frontcourt chasm when it could face a player like Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett or LeBron James in a repeat attempt. (Not to mention a West that is still home to Tim Duncan.)

Odom?s tendency to defer within the offense meshes well with Kobe Bryant?s necessarily ball domination and Artest?s lapses into being a black hole. Defensively, a frontcourt in the clutch of Artest/Odom/Gasol is almost impervious. For the Lakers to lose as gifted a rebounder and passer as Odom also counteracts the benefits of the gutsy Artest signing. The de facto Ariza for Artest trade makes a champion even scarier, but tossing Odom into the works means the team will have a tough time replicating last season?s stellar 65 wins.

While the Lakers hope to maintain the league?s highest talent level, the Knicks just need talent. Losing Lee without compensation, unlikely as it seems at this point, would remove the team?s best player and most sought-after trading chip. Orchestrating a sign-and-trade could give the Knicks what they want, but a failure to bring back sufficient talent would still see a sharp decrease in the team?s talent level.

A remaining roster featuring players like Chris Duhon, Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington won?t be sufficient to get to the playoffs or to attract star free agents in 2010. Lee?s presence might not put the Knicks into the playoffs, but they?d be more competitive and show the impact of Donnie Walsh?s makeover better than without him. A max-contract perimeter player knowing he?d be teamed with Lee, a high-percentage inside scorer who?s also one of the league?s most prolific rebounders, could change the second scenario.

With July almost at a close and some of free agency?s biggest names still out there, the next few days ? weeks? ? will decide which teams are winners and which are losers. Some, like the Raptors and Blazers, have made their moves already and look primed to be competitive. Others, like the Lakers, can be graded incomplete and then evaluated based on their outstanding accounts. The Miller and Jack signings show that teams can be successful in this slow, sludgy free agent market. Players like Odom and Lee will decide which teams are the next to either keep their rosters flourishing or sprout a new growth of talent.