With the dog days of summer upon us and most of the NBA’s top free agents off the market, it’s time to assess the off-season’s winners and losers. Here are the teams that have fared the best and worst so far:

WINNERS

1. MIAMI – Eddie Jones for Jason Williams would be a good trade . Eddie Jones for James Posey also would be a good trade. And Eddie Jones for Antoine Walker? That’s a no-brainer. But Jones for Williams and Posey and Walker? How much do you want to bet that when he first got the offer, Pat Riley thought it was a crank call?

Sure, Williams and Walker will combine to lead the league in forced 3-pointers, but the talent upgrade is so overwhelming that it’s still a home run for the Heat. Throw in the retention of forward Udonis Haslem, the contract extension for Shaquille O’Neal, and the drafting of forward Wayne Simien, and you have a second straight huge summer for Riley.

2. CLEVELAND – The Cavs added two big-time players in guard Larry Hughes and forward Donyell Marshall, greatly strengthening what had been a pathetic nucleus around superstar Le-Bron James. The Cavs also re-signed 7-foot-3 inch Nicholas Cage look-alike Zydrunas Ilgauskas and had a case of addition by subtraction when they kicked Jeff McInnis and his surly attitude to the curb. New GM Danny Ferry’s work isn’t done yet, however, as the Cavs have about $3 million in cap room left to spend on a point guard.

3. HOUSTON – The Rockets made only one free-agent signing, but it was a big one. Athletic forward Stromile Swift solves the team’s two most glaring weaknesses from a year ago: the absence of a competent power forward and the lack of players (besides Yao) who can finish in the paint. His 40-minute averages of 18.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks blow away predecessor Juwan Howard’s 14.5, 8.5, and 0.1. (Yes, that’s 0.1 blocks. Howard had five all season.) For $28 million over five years, Swift was a bargain who will have Jeff Van Gundy’s club poised to join the West’s elite.

4. MILWAUKEE – The Bucks grabbed Andrew Bogut with the first pick in the draft, picked up Clippers stopper Bobby Simmons in free agency, and will welcome guard T.J. Ford back after he missed last season with a bruised spinal cord. Simmons is especially important because the Bucks were one of the league’s worst defensive teams last season, and he rated second in the NBA in my individual defensive ratings. Free agents Michael Redd and Dan Gadzuric were retained, and swingman Jiri Welsch was acquired for a no. 2 pick, so the Bucks seem headed back to the playoffs.

5. SACRAMENTO – The Kings quietly traded Bobby Jackson for Bonzi Wells to fill in their shooting guard spot, then stole point guard Jason Hart from Charlotte for a no. 2 pick. Wells is about as pleasant as a hemorrhoid, but his 19.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per 40 minutes will provide an upgrade on the departed Cuttino Mobley. Sacramento will move way up the list if they land Shareef Abdur-Rahim, as is rumored, and can get something for restricted free agent Darius Songaila in a sign-and-trade.

LOSERS

1. ATLANTA – The Hawks’ ownership is embroiled in a courtroom battle as they try to oust minority owner Steve Belkin, but for Atlanta fans it’s a lose-lose situation. If Belkin wins, it means the Hawks turn into Clippers East. Belkin, who has protested the team’s proposed acquisition of Joe Johnson, wants to keep payroll to the bare minimum and will have the Hawks going 19-63 well into the next millennium. On the other hand, if Belkin loses, it means the Hawks will approve a ridiculous trade that sends two no. 1 picks to Phoenix for the right to overpay the overrated Johnson.

2. MEMPHIS – Remember when Jerry West was revered as the league’s best GM? Now that idea is as anachronistic as acid-washed jeans and cassette tapes. West traded Jason Williams and James Posey for Eddie Jones, a difficult-to-pull-off swap of two better players for one who’s worse but costs more money. He let point guard Earl Watson walk and used the money to sign Damon Stoudamire, and continues to ignore the team’s glaring need at center, which has only been an issue for five years or so.

3. ORLEANS – We’ve got cap space! Look at all this cap space! And our big off-season cash hoard netted us. . . Arvydas Macijauskas? Rasual Butler? Kirk Snyder? Is this a joke? The Hornets’ inability to make use of their cap space was confounding, especially considering how bad the team was a year ago. New Orleans wasn’t even a factor in the bidding for up-and-coming types like Swift or Tyson Chandler. In a related story, notorious cheapskate George Shinn is still the owner. My sources tell me he’s already reserved a hotel room in Secaucus for next May’s draft lottery.

4. PHILADELPHIA – Apparently the $100 million he gave Eric Snow, Derrick Coleman, and Kenny Thomas hasn’t fazed Billy King any, because the Sixers continue their foolish strategy of overpaying their own free agents. This summer they handed out over $100 million to Sam Dalembert, Kyle Korver, and Willie Green. Green’s deal is on hold for the moment, but the deals will kill for years what little cap flexibility Philly had. An additional demerit goes out for trading their best bench player, Marc Jackson, to a division rival, earning only a trade exception that will be difficult for Philly to use in its precarious state vis-a-vis the luxury tax.

5 (TIE) JERSEY – When you have a $5 million trade exception and the full mid-level exception, you’re supposed to come away from it with more than Marc Jackson and Jeff McInnis, who the team signed to a reported two year, $7 million deal yesterday. It wasn’t the Nets’ fault that Abdur-Rahim’s knee MRI turned out so badly, but the end result is the same – a lost opportunity for New Jersey. Worse, the Nets probably overpaid for McInnis considering his defensive woes and attitude problems.

5 (TIE) NEW YORK – Not a banner summer for the locals. Yes , the Knicks got Larry Brown, but I’m not certain it was a good long-term decision. Brown already is lobbying for destructive moves like acquiring Eric Snow, who did a fine job for Larry in Philly but is about five years past his prime and has a cap-killing contract. Speaking of destructive moves, how long do you suppose new Knick Jerome James will hang on to the starting center job? I have Nov. 13 in the New York Sun office pool. If it weren’t for the fact the Knicks got Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson for Kurt Thomas, they’d rate much worse.

Mr. Hollinger is the author of the 2005-06 Pro Basketball Forecast.