In the aftermath of the trade deadline, the league looks different.  OK, mostly the West and Cleveland look different.

In this edition of Showtime, I'll revisit some of the more notable trades and signings and analyze their impact.

The big ones, of course, were clearly the Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol and the Suns' acquisition of Shaq.  These will be long-winded discussions so they'll come last.  Instead, we'll focus initially on Kyle Korver going to Utah.

- Kyle Korver to Utah

This one gets mentioned every time these discussions come up but not at length, and that's confusing.  Utah is 20-4 since acquiring Korver, and he has averaged 10.5 ppg in 22.9 mpg, shooting a career-best 46.2% from the floor and 36.3% from downtown on 4.3 3PA a game (7.8 FGA/g).  He's not shooting as well as he did in Philly during the first couple years of his career, but having had to adjust to the Western Conference and dealing with his early-season slump has undoubtedly affected his game.  

Notably, Korver is shooting 58.3% inside the arc on those 3.5 shots a game he's taking inside the three-point line.  What you're seeing is the Kapono effect: if you've got a swing that can hit shots from 20 feet and farther at a really high percentage, then you're going to get more space in the pinch pot and the low post with which to work.  

Consequently, life is quite easier for Carlos Boozer.  Deron Williams?  He's got a money catch-and-shoot player with whom to link up on drive-and-dishes, much as TJ Ford and Kapono function in Toronto.  This has been important; the Jazz have some shooters, about whom I'll talk in a minute, but now they've got a guy who's playing significant minutes and can consistently hit those kinds of shots.

Utah has some shooters, as I mentioned; CJ Miles is taking 1.5 3s a game and knocking them down at over 43%; Kirilenko's hitting at a clip similar to Korver; Ronnie Price is hitting; Okur's starting to get his shot back...  Ultimately, though, the only player on the team taking anything like Korver's volume from downtown and playing similar or greater minutes is Okur (yes, Deron's sniping away, but he's also the primary ball-handler and is still only taking 2.4 3PA/g). So Korver becomes an important floor balance addition for when Okur's out or to use in tandem with Okur so that the two can play on opposite sides of the court, opening up Deron's options because he has a kick-out pass on either side.  That means the D can't really shade him to one side or the other depending on who's where, and that's really important.

Perhaps most importantly, he's fitting in at the 2/3, not just as a 3, and that means he can play alongside Kirilenko... which is an option the Jazz haven't explored much but is nevertheless open to them.  His ability to play the two means that he can play alongside the frontcourt players who can shoot outside, and he fits into Giricek's old spots seamlessly.  I think that his 19- to 22-foot shots are actually more important to the Jazz right now because of his shooting percentage on those looks, which is again quite similar to the impact of Jason Kapono (when Sam Mitchell gives him playing time).  By this point in my article, Jazz fans will be sick of hearing about Kapono and Toronto so that's the last of it for this section.

The record the Jazz have enjoyed since the trade would seem to be the biggest indicator that this was a success; statistically speaking, the biggest difference between Korver and Giricek is inside the arc, but this was also an addition-by-subtraction scenario in that getting rid of Giricek while roughly replacing his production was actually just as valuable as improving on the production itself.  This was pretty much a win all around for Utah, and it is working out quite nicely.  

Negatives?  Well, about the only negative is that he isn't a good defender, but neither was Giricek so it actually doesn't change the status quo at all.  His 2pt shooting percentage will eventually come down to earth, I suspect, but I figure his three-point shooting percentage will probably climb on balance over the rest of the season because he's more like a 40% shooter than his current 36%, so it'll probably even out.  

Not as big a splash as some but certainly effective.

- Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire to San Antonio

There isn't TOO much to say about these moves that Marc Stein and everyone else hasn't said, but these were wise, relatively low-cost moves that filled needs for the Spurs.  Stoudamire filled in while Parker was gone and will serve as an offensive-minded backup, an alternative to Jacque Vaughn.  That last alone is a positive thing, in my opinion, and having someone who's had some playoff experience (46 postseason games with Portland, including two deep runs in 98-99 and 99-00) will do some good.  I wouldn't ask him to create too much for himself because he's been a low-percentage scorer on the balance of his career (quite low, as a matter of fact), but theoretically he's a decent three-point shooter (35.8% on his career), and he can push the ball.  He's playing pretty badly right now over the first 9 games and is a defensive liability but really, he's a bench-warmer until Pop needs him now that Parker is back, and depth is always a plus.  Perhaps the best aspect of his game is that he's a very good free throw shooter (career 83.3%), and the Spurs definitely need that.

Kurt Thomas?  What to say?  Duncan doesn't have to worry about Thomas defending him again. Kurt can rebound, stick baseline and elbow jumpers from the mid-range, defend the post; he's a decent passer and a career 76.6% FT shooter... He may be costing them $8M this year, but he's also expiring and that's a plus.  If the Spurs do actually re-sign Brent Barry, then the trade gets even better.

On the whole, Thomas is more valuable over the bulk of the season and postseason than will be Stoudamire, so he's the more important acquisition.  That kind of frontcourt help is going to be of great use to the Spurs come May.  

This is yet another in a long and almost unbroken string of moves by the Spurs' front office that qualifies as half under-the-radar and very intelligent.  San Antonio is the best-managed team in the league; they have good vision, fiscal responsibility, and they know when and how to make smaller moves that have bigger effects rather than larger moves with smaller or negative effects.  The Spurs had to be thinking, "We've got 4 titles since the lockout season and a really strong core even post-Admiral, so why shake things up?"  There was no need to move Manu or Parker so they worked within the scope of their reserves and found a team that was willing to deal in Seattle.  As usual, it worked out brilliantly.

- Bonzi Wells for Bobby Jackson

A Rick Adelman player for a Rick Adelman player, a pair of Kings.  Well, former Kings, anyway, and Bobby Jackson was always more useful than Wells.  This one's a win for the Rockets because they have some new life at the point where Rafer Alston has been looking really bad.  New Orleans may benefit from some extra frontcourt depth, but I doubt it; Wells is like Magloire a few steps back in the process, more of a flash-in-the-pan type with some head case issues.  

This is a relatively minor trade in scope, but Bobby Jackson can shoot a bit from downtown and at the line and is a nice bench scoring spark who can take pressure off Yao and T-Mac in short spurts. A great energy player, he's also a solid defender, which will help the Rockets out.  Shouldn't be a world-shaker, but this was a solid move.

And now we get to the bigger trades..

- Jason Kidd to Dallas

This is the kind of trade you'd think should have a huge impact; Jason Kidd is a stellar playmaker, a great rebounder, and is still a very good defender.  He's an abysmal shooter and fairly weak as a scoring threat but with Dirk, Josh Howard, and Stackhouse (when he comes back), that's not so much an issue especially since those guys can score without his aid (although Dirk has always scored more effectively with a solid small guard, be it Nash or Harris, on the floor).

Hard to call this one in the early going since you can't pick-and-roll with Kidd as effectively because he's a weak shooter... but they may make those points up in the transition opportunities he'll get you if Avery lets them run more.  I think it's pretty clear that Jason Kidd has the playmaking ability to help the Mavs do some real damage, but I'm pretty sure that this isn't their year, even with Kidd.  I think they gave up too much frontcourt depth and shooting and that Harris is a better defender at this stage of his career.  I don't know if this was a really wise trade, all-told.  They lose out on a long-term player in Harris, who's a decade younger than Kidd and who costs much less, too.  Kidd's worth $21 million next year, although he's an expiring deal then, as well, so I suppose that gives them some huge flexibility if they do decide to move him.  But that leaves a pretty clear window of opportunity especially given his age (35).  It's a big gamble; this deal is as much a gamble as the Suns' deal for Shaq although the seasonal production wil,l of course, be higher from Kidd.  It's pretty clearly a win-now gamble, and I don't think it's going to work; I'm definitely not a fan of this deal.  

- Pau Gasol to the Lakers

This was the doozy; this is unquestionably the best trade of the bunch and it isn't even close.  Gasol fits into L.A.'s offense like he was born to play in it and I haven't seen Kobe this happy or loose on the court except in the 2000 regular season and the last few games of the 2001 season and into the playoffs (Remember that? They cracked off 8 wins in a row to close the season and then won the first 12 games of the playoffs for a total of 20 consecutive victories before losing to the Sixers in Game One).  

Gasol is just always THERE, you know?  He's always in the right spot to receive a pass from Kobe, and he's got magnet hands and a soft J so he's always hitting buckets.  He isn't a stellar rebounder, but he's solid and they've got Odom (and Bynum, if he comes back this season), which totally invalidates that as an issue.  And, he's a great passer too, which only further enhances his offensive value.  Gasol, since arriving in L.A., has helped the Lakers to a 9-1 record (including having won their last 8) by an average margin of 13.3 points.  Pau himself has been averaging 22 ppg on 63.2% shooting (13.6 FGA/g), drawing 6.2 FTA/g, and hitting 4.8 (77.4% FT, .456 FTA/FGA, 15.9% DrawF) while adding 7.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, and 1.5 bpg.

So there it is; he's plugged into the L.A. offense perfectly, adding that dangerous second scorer option that Kobe has needed since Shaq was traded and that Odom could never provide.  He's playing in all the right spots (pinch post, mid-post, low post, high post), can pick-and-pop or pick-and-roll, passes really well; I mean, he's a perfect fit, and he came very cheaply, all considering.  Losing Crittenton rather stung, but ultimately, they have Jordan Farmar for the long-term and Derek Fisher for now so it isn't a big deal.  

But wait, said the Cutco salesman... there's more.  Lamar Odom has been playing possibly the best ball of his career since the trade.  Yes, it's only 10 games and this is all going to settle down a little eventually, but for the moment, Odom's playing like never before.  Finally allowed to take a backseat as a scorer, he's focused in one passing and rebounding.  In the last 10 games, he's averaged 15.6 ppg (20.3 over the last three games), 12.3 rpg (with only one single-digit rebounding performance), and 4.3 apg.  He's been averaging 9.5 FGA/g and 4.4 FTA/g, shooting 63.2% FG and 65.9% FT.  He's also been taking advantage of the three-pointer pretty effectively, taking 1.2 3PA/g and shooting 58.3% from downtown.  Unbelievable offensive efficiency and primarily the result of wide open looks created by all the attention that Gasol and Kobe are receiving... and also on account of the shooting of guys like Vujacic and Fisher.  Before he went down, Radman was also shooting really well.  All in all, the Lakers are shaping up like a juggernaut.

And they don't even have Bynum in the lineup.  The impact of this trade sent tremors through the entire league and Western Conference execs scrambled to respond.  It was like a meteor smacking into downtown everywhere, and it changed the entire scope of the meaning of this year's trade deadline most especially because they didn't give up Odom, Bynum, or Farmar in order to get an All-Star big.  The advantages of Memphis' preferential fire sale, I suppose.  No matter how you slice it, this is the most significant trade the league has seen this year.

So why is it second-last?  Because I can only extol its virtues so much before it becomes redundant.

- Shaq to the Suns

The iconic "Win Now," "High Risk, High Reward" trade.  If it works out, the Suns have a title shot for the next two or three years (the long window because of the reduced requirements on Shaq).  

If it works, they win a title; if it fails, then Phoenix will always wonder if they could have kept Marion and finally gotten over the hump.  

The first thing to dispel is the notion that the running game will be unduly affected; there are always one or two guys who don't make it up and down the floor at speed, and that's fine.  Shaq's been rebounding just fine in Phoenix (better than in Miami so far), and he's been drawing fouls.  He's struggled to finish and is still an abysmal free throw shooter, but that's to be expected as he adjusts to the new style and pace, the new sets, being farther out from the basket for pick-and-rolls, etc.  He's notably shooting a ridiculously low FT% even for himself (27.3% over the first three games), and that'll come up at least 15% or so... which is still terrible, but he'll be better than he has been thus far.  And it's worth noting that while he's shooting 45.5% over his first three games, he was still shooting 58.1% in Miami earlier this season so you can expect about a 13% hike in his FG% on the balance of the season.  Once that starts to happen, well, that'll bring him up to being a double-digit scorer (you can expect about 13, 14 ppg from him once he settles in, I expect), and things will get going for the Suns a bit better.  I suspect they'll look to him in the post a little more.

They lost a good game to the Lakers although Raja Bell was notably useless and Shaq was on Gasol, which was a recipe for disaster because Shaq's simply not quick enough to guard a PF like Gasol (even if he's playing the 5 in stretches).  He got a hand up on many of those jumpers, but that's not enough; you need to smother him and if he did that, Gasol would be by him for higher-percentage layups and dunks all night and possibly fouls.  So that was tough.  Bell's inadequacy didn't help, and Diaw looked somewhat disinterested, as usual.  He had 14 boards in 26 minutes against Boston and they won so I don't really need to say anything else, even if he was miserable from the floor and the line.  Detroit wasn't entirely his fault; Nash couldn't guard Billups, Hill laid an egg on offense, Diaw was useless, and Amare got absolutely TORCHED by Rasheed Wallace.  Also, Amare didn't rebound worth a damn; he had 3 boards in almost 36 minutes, leading Detroit to exploit a +19 rebounding advantage en route to the blow-out.  

What else to say?  Of COURSE the Suns looked bad; they played the best team in the West and the two best teams in the East in the immediate aftermath of a huge deal that notably altered their game.  They had to incorporate a new player right away, and Shaq hasn't even really played in two months besides these three games.

We'll take it as it comes; I don't want to defend the trade too hard because it's really a sink-or-swim deal. If they don't win the title, it wasn't worth it so this deal has a very clear 2.5 season evaluation period.  If the Suns don't win it this year or next year, they aren't going to win it period, though, so maybe 1.5 seasons is more accurate.  

The key things are what Shaq brings in the halfcourt, which is of relevance to playoff basketball and how he affects Amare Stoudemire.  Amare is averaging 32 ppg since Shaq started playing with the Suns and 11 FTA/g in that same span.  He's been thoroughly dominant on offense (and he's still shooting almost 49% while doing so, although this is a marked decrease in FG% from before).  In the halfcourt, Shaq still drags two defenders to him when he's in the post, and he still causes damage in single coverage that warrants this (see the second half of the Lakers/Suns game).  This frees up a TON of space in which Amare can maneuver so when he gets the ball cutting across the key in the high post, he has a lane right to the basket, and it's almost a guaranteed foul if one of Shaq's defenders comes off him to try and contest Amare going hard to the rim.  So that'll be valuable to the Suns in halfcourt sets during playoff basketball, and we'll see how valuable Shaq is against someone like Duncan not too long from now when the Suns play the Spurs.

And that's about that; if the Suns exit the West, they will likely win the title because I don't think Detroit will make it past Cleveland, and Detroit is the only team that can really challenge them because they can exploit Nash and Stoudemire defensively.

Phoenix can deal with Dallas by making Kidd a scorer and trying to keep either Dirk or Josh Howard out of it and make them run the offense through Stackhouse as much as possible.  Harris won't be there to pester Nash, and there's no way Kidd is going to stop him.  More to the point, as much as Dirk will be a difficult defensive check, he isn't coming to come close to touching Amare, and Shaq will cause the Mavs problems simply by being present as he did in the '06 Finals facilitating other scorers by exploiting his defensive draw and acting as a mirage and passing hub.  

In my opinion, the Suns really have two teams to beat: San Antonio and (like everyone else) the Lakers.  No one else is really worth considering.  The Suns need to get their offense together and sort out how they are going to play.  It should be interesting, but there are no guarantees.  I like the deal because they finally have some size inside, and they are able to play a bit of a power post game from time to time to shift the look they give defenses.  Theoretically, between Nash and all the secondary shooters on the team (and the lure of dealing with Amare on offense), the Suns should be able to exploit Shaq's presence on their team and take a legit shot at the title.  They're really no worse than they were with Marion, and they have the potential to be better so I view this as a good risk, especially given Nash's age and the looming prospect of having to re-sign Marion for much more than he was worth with no tangible improvement in the team from year to year during his time with Nash.