It's been the kind of offseason you might hurt yourself celebrating, if you're a Los Angeles Laker.
Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Antawn Jamison, Jodie Meeks ... it's not hard to figure out why Lakers coach Mike Brown couldn't contain himself recently.
"I got a little excited," Brown told ESPN Los Angeles of when he heard about the four-team trade that landed Howard. "I tried to jump up and down, but my mind was telling me to do something that my body wouldn't allow me to do. I almost pulled my hamstring sitting down. I don't know if that's ever happened to anybody, but I was so excited that my leg tensed up. I almost tore my hamstring. So I got up slowly and gave him and (executive) Jim Buss a hug.
"That might be the first hug they've gotten from their coach, ever, when it comes to a trade happening."
The Lakers are the big winners of this NBA offseason, adding a superstar center, two-time MVP point guard and two high-volume bench scorers without losing much of the team's core. After consecutive disappointing finishes, Los Angeles is again an elite title contender. Howard, Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace constitute the best starting five in the NBA.
MORE:?Kobe, Lin lead players who won offseason
The team that gave them Howard, the Orlando Magic, sits on the opposite end of the spectrum. After six consecutive playoff trips starring Howard, the Magic are entering a new era, one that will take a long time.
The Magic received six players and three draft picks for Howard, Jason Richardson and two reserves. The best of the bunch is Arron Afflalo, a fine starter who was the Denver Nuggets' third-best player last season. He'll have to become a star if the Magic hope to hover near respectability, as they also lost power forward Ryan Anderson to the New Orleans Hornets.
USA TODAY Sports looks at three other winners and three more losers of the NBA offseason thus far:
Winner: Los Angeles Clippers
Things are getting more interesting by the minute in the City of Angels. The Clippers faced some adversity with injuries to power forward Blake Griffin and point guard Chris Paul in U.S. Olympic training camp. But both should be back for the start of the regular season. Moreover, the team returns Chauncey Billups, who played well off Paul before tearing his Achilles tendon. Grant Hill and Lamar Odom provide even more veteran support off the bench. And they replace Mo Williams and Nick Young with superior scoring sixth man Jamal Crawford.
Loser: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers earned the lowest draft grade for overvaluing Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller. Waiters had a weak showing in summer league play, though Zeller played well. But the Cavaliers did little else to build around last year's rookie of the year, Kyrie Irving, who has the look of a superstar. C.J. Miles is a serviceable bench player but likely will start for Cleveland. Small forward Omri Casspi, acquired for J.J. Hickson last season, reportedly is unhappy with the team despite his own poor play. And oft-injured center Anderson Varejao still is without a reliable backup.
Winner: Minnesota Timberwolves
Ricky Rubio made the T'wolves interesting last year, then tore ligaments in his knee and missed half the season. Getting Rubio back is only part of the reason Minnesota should rejoice. They added a pair of talented Russians, NBA veteran Andrei Kirilenko and rookie Alexey Shved, who starred for the bronze medalists in London. They got rid of two of the stranger No. 2 overall picks in recent years, Michael Beasley and Darko Milicic. And they picked up potential contributor Dante Cunningham from the Memphis Grizzlies for non-potential contributor Wayne Ellington.
Loser: Charlotte Bobcats
The team that set the record for futility last season did very little to improve itself this offseason. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was a fine draft choice, though he doesn't answer the team's desperate need for scoring. They changed hands at point guard from D.J. Augustin to Ramon Sessions, who has slightly more upside but isn't better right now. They traded Corey Maggette for Ben Gordon, who is only marginally better than Maggette and has a longer, bigger contract. The result: They may challenge their own record-low .106 winning percentage this season.
Winner: Philadelphia 76ers
Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Lou Williams made the Sixers respectable for years, but they weren't going to bring the team a title. Andrew Bynum might. The center, acquired in the Howard trade, has tremendous upside even seven seasons into his NBA career. He turns 25 in October and now will get to unleash his full potential without Bryant chucking shots from all angles. Richardson, Dorell Wright and Nick Young are solid scorers, and Richardson could find his groove again this year after struggling for the Magic. Moreover, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young should blossom without veterans Iguodala and Brand taking their minutes and roles.
Loser: Toronto Raptors
The swing-and-miss bid for Nash was inevitable; he wanted to win a title, and the Raptors aren't there yet. But they also overpaid Landry Fields, an average small forward, and traded a potentially high 2013 draft pick for point guard Kyle Lowry. Lowry is an upgrade over Jose Calderon, who should be traded at any moment, but he isn't among the NBA's 15 best point guards. The good news is Jonas Valanciunas, the No. 5 pick in 2011, joins the team. The bad news is Valanciunas, who showed flashes of his potential in limited playing time for Lithuania during the London Olympics, isn't ready for the starting role he'll likely be thrust into from the start.
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