Livingston needs the guidance. Last year's starter, new Minnesota point man Marko Jaric, had all the leadership skills of a LeSeur pea, and he won't be missed. Still, Cassell owns one of the least-reliable bodies in the league, and his backups (Livingston, Ewing, Tabuse) have but 34 career NBA games between them. Russian rookie Korolev can play, but he won't this year, and they'll miss Mikki Moore -- even with Chris Wilcox and Elton Brand ready to take on even more minutes at center.

Outlook: Losing Simmons, the league's most improved player last season, wasn't the end of the world, especially considering the money Milwaukee was offering. How the team responds to Mobley and Cassell, two players who can dominate both the ball and the locker room, will decide L.A.'s playoff chances. Whether playing in spite of the two, or flourishing under their veteran guidance (don't laugh), the younger Clippers need to keep their wits about them.

Los Angeles Lakers

Losses: Chucky Atkins (Wizards), Caron Butler (Wizards), Vlade Divac (retirement), Brian Grant (waived).

Gains: Kwame Brown (Wizards), Andrew Bynum (draft), Phil Jackson (coach), Aaron McKie (free agent), Von Wafer (draft).

Offseason goals: Pump up that Laker Q-Rating to '02 levels, find a coach  and make sure that the two previously stated goals weren't mutually exclusive.

What really happened: The Lakers became interesting again. Not only will they reel in the fair-weather fans, but NBA junkies are salivating at the thought of the Triangle Offense's true coming-out party. Shaquille O'Neal may have given L.A. three championships, but his presence in the post necessitated a truncated version of Tex Winter's legendary movement offense. With Jackson back on board, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom will be free to do their damage with and without the ball, and it should make the Lakers an entertaining -- if not overachieving -- crew.

Jackson's presence on the sideline and at practice cannot be understated. This team will play defense, share the ball and Bryant will flourish as a leader. In Jackson's first go-round as coach, team chemistry necessitated that he back O'Neal in nearly every conflict. He'll feel more at ease this time around as he works with a humbled Bryant, whose work ethic and love for the game seem more in-tune with Jackson's basketball mindset.

Things are quite different in the paint, though, where a good pair of hands is in short supply. Incumbent center Chris Mihm is a brutally-bad passer, even by pivotman standards, and Brown can't be trusted to palm a softball. Expect to see Bryant, Odom, and Luke Walton (who should be driving Jackson to work every day) working out of the post quite a bit, while Mihm spots up and Brown works along the baseline for chippies. When and if the Lakers and Timberwolves figure out a way to ship Latrell Sprewell to Los Angeles, "Spree" will enjoy the spacing and slashing opportunities the triangle provides.

Outlook: Last season couldn't have gone much worse for the Lakers, but they should rebound nicely this season. They won't contend for anything better than the seventh seed in the West, but it will be a solid start to the second Jackson Era. We've always suspected that a Kobe Bryant-led team would play more to the Triangle's idiosyncrasies than a team with Shaq on the roster, so this season will be an interesting experiment.

Phoenix Suns

Losses: Steven Hunter (76ers), Joe Johnson (Hawks), Quentin Richardson (Knicks), Paul Shirley (Myspace.com), Jake Voskuhl (Bobcats).

Gains: Raja Bell (free agent), Pat Burke (free agent), Brian Grant (free agent), Eddie House (free agent), James Jones (Pacers), Kurt Thomas (Knicks), Dijon Thompson (draft).