Analyzing the NBA Trades
The Laker trade, getting Pau Gasol, improved their record, no doubt about it. He seems to be fitting in very well. Everyone is waiting for Andrew Bynum to get back to full strength...that's when you will see the Lakers do what they can do.
I'm one of the few people who doesn't see the Jason Kidd trade as helping Dallas all that much. He's an excellent point guard, but I think their major deficiency upfront is strength down low in the half-court game that they are going to encounter in the play-offs.
As for Phoenix, they have time to work Shaquille O'Neal into their offense and once they get into the halfcourt game, that's when they'll be able to use him and his talents a lot better. In the open floor in the Western Conference in the regular season, Shaq is a bit of an anchor...but watch what he can do in the play-offs when the Suns get into a halfcourt game against a team like San Antonio.