Trail Blazers and Jazz the best of a division in flux

It's an indication of how well things are going for this team that one of the offseason downers has nothing to do with its roster. Still, Darius Miles will have Portland on the hook for nearly $18 million if he's able to play 10 games or more with the Boston Celtics this season. At that point, Miles' retirement due to injury would end, along with the insurance coverage and salary-cap concession. No team needs that big a number plopped onto its payroll when it has a wealth of skilled youngsters who'll need to be paid in coming years.

Grade: A

You'll notice that we got this far and did not even mention Greg Oden's encouraging summer workouts. That alone would qualify the Blazers for the best offseason in this division, and whatever adjustments the coaches and players have to make to fit Oden's game into last season's style -- minimal, actually, given his defensive leanings -- they will be well worth it and easily absorbed by the All-Star break.

What went right:

Al Jefferson's a beast and what's not to (Kevin) Love?

Kevin McHale's greatest moment as an NBA executive came back in 1995 when he gambled and drafted Kevin Garnett, who became an All-Star for more than a decade. Garnett is an NBA champion now, albeit with Boston, and will be a Hall of Famer soon enough. But what gets McHale out of bed these days is the opportunity to work with two new Minnesota big men. First there's Jefferson, one of just four 20-10 guys in the league and a dominating low-post scorer. Then there's Love, a feisty rookie from UCLA who sees the floor and loves to pass. Thos are skills that got McHale into the shrine in Springfield. Love is delighted to be working with both former Celtics, and Jefferson is happy to have more help up front.

They signed their key free agents.

No one is going to argue that Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes and Craig Smith are the keys to this or any other kingdom. But for a team that has been selling rebuilding, softly at first and then infomerical hard last season, keeping the pieces together is vital. Telfair resuscitated his flagging young NBA career last season, Gomes is a "glue'' guy who can help any team, and Smith has added some small-forward skills to his previously burly game.

What went wrong:

Point guard still is a problem.