The teams that have improved the most in new year

Kyle Korver has added another dimension to the Jazz's offense with his deep shooting. AP

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Also in this column:
• Main obstacles to European expansion
• Small trades that could pay off big

5 Most improved teams of the new year

5. Utah Jazz. They've gone 19-3 since acquiring Kyle Korver in late December. He's averaging only 23.3 minutes for the Jazz, but his career-high 46.9 percent shooting appears to complete their team by providing the three-point range they've long needed. The Jazz have issues defensively, but at the other end of the floor they are now completely overwhelming.

4. Phoenix Suns. During the regular season they'll miss Shawn Marion in transition, and at the same time the Suns didn't obtain a simple plug-and-play center by trading for Shaquille O'Neal. It's going to take a while to sort out their new look.

Come the playoffs, however, they're going to be glad they have Shaq. When the games slow down against the Lakers or the Spurs, they'll have a rim protector on defense and an inside-out target on offense who will liberate Amaré Stoudemire to be a force at both ends. The Suns took a lot of heat for making this trade, but the Spurs might not have dealt for Kurt Thomas on Wednesday if they hadn't respected the difference Shaq (as well as Pau Gasol) will make in the postseason.

Bringing in Shaq is going to be a slow-boiling move. Wait until the playoffs to judge whether it succeeds.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers. They directed an 11-player trade among three teams at the deadline Thursday while raising questions about the chemistry of their new lineup. But look at this simply in terms of Cleveland's rotation and it becomes a no-brainer: They gave up Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes; they got back Ben Wallace and Joe Smith up front and Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West on the perimeter.

On the whole, they're a deeper and more talented team. Emotionally, it's a big gain because the defending conference champions knew deep down that they couldn't continue to survive against the upgraded competition at the top of the league. Now they're sure to approach the remaining two months of the regular season with a newfound intensity as they hurry to incorporate their new talent. There is going to be a sense of mission and purpose that this team had been lacking (e.g. No. 22 in field-goal defense).

Not only will they play with more energy, but they'll also have better weapons. LeBron James needed more deep shooting, which Cleveland will receive from Szczerbiak and West; the latter will also provide mandatory depth at point guard. Three of the newcomers are tough defenders (it's easy to guess which one isn't). And it's not hard to imagine that Wallace will be rejuvenated in a number of ways: He'll be playing for the championship again; he could benefit while being paired with the length and shooting of Zydrunas Ilgauskas; and it's guaranteed that LeBron will create easy baskets for him every now and then out of respect. He'll be a far better player than he was in Chicago, you can count on that.

2. Dallas Mavericks. Maybe they could have made the trade for Jason Kidd without yielding a pair of first-round picks, but that's talk for another day. The Mavericks were at a crossroads, with coach Avery Johnson running out of ways to appeal to them. You could tell by some of the poor efforts they were showing in recent weeks. They were down and up and down again in a way that was surprising; not unlike Cleveland, they needed to make a move for spiritual reasons as much as anything.

How will Kidd change their team? They'll get more easy baskets in transition, obviously. But he will also assert leadership offensively. Johnson needed help in a big way here, as it was becoming hard to describe the Mavericks' style -- their identity -- anymore. Was Dirk Nowitzki trying to become a playmaker who scores as an afterthought, or were the Mavs still built around his shooting while expecting him to pass only when necessary? Of course, the game is more complicated than that, but a team under pressure needs to be capable of answering the simple questions.

Kidd will eventually restore Nowitzki's confidence and dominance while bringing order to the Mavs' offense. The Mavs gave up a lot to get him -- the defense of Devin Harris will be missed against Tony Parker and Steve Nash, and DeSagana Diop will be a huge loss around the basket -- but more than anything they needed leadership. Nowitzki's strength as the league's biggest mismatch was on the wane, and now you'll begin to see him playing like his old self again.

1. Los Angeles Lakers. That trade for Gasol turned the Lakers from a second-round playoff team (at best) into a contender. You can tell the impact by the play of Kobe Bryant, who is doing his best impression yet of Michael Jordan. He is demonstrating a killer instinct that scares every team in the league. You did notice he scored 41 points the other night with a pinky that requires surgery?

The emotional impact is a big component of these midseason trades. This is a league that rarely yields upsets in the playoffs, and the best players know better than anyone whether they have a realistic chance of going far. Last summer Bryant wanted out; now he might be unwilling to trade his roster for anybody's ... well, maybe San Antonio's. Or maybe not.

As a versatile and deferential star, Gasol is an excellent complement to Bryant. Gasol, Lamar Odom -- who looks much more comfortable at small forward -- and Bryant are in their peak years, and they've gone 7-1 since Gasol's arrival. Imagine how they'll be after the return next month of Andrew Bynum, a center who doesn't need the ball. The Lakers may very well emerge as the team to beat in this conference.

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