The next thing we'll hear is that Al Gore will be speaking at the NBA All-Star Game next week in New Orleans to discuss the effect of global warming in the Western Conference.

It's no longer as hot as it was just a few weeks ago. Now it's scorching. We still have the same questions as we had a few weeks ago: Are the Spurs too old to get it together late in the year as they always have? Are the Mavs just too soft to ever win the West? And really, are the Hornets serious contenders or just the flavor of the regular season?

But those questions have become afterthoughts in the wake of the past week.

Last Friday, the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol for three packs of cigarettes, a plane ticket to anywhere in the continental United States, and free Gatorade for a year.

This week the Suns unloaded the incessant whine of Shawn Marion and ineffectual Marcus Banks for what's left of the mammoth center previously known as Shaquille O'Neal.

Now what do we do?

With Kobe Bryant playing at an MVP level and the rest of the Lakers growing up around him fast, the addition of Gasol not only compensates for having lost blossoming young center Andrew Bynum, it makes them legitimate contenders to win the West in whatever state Bynum returns from his left knee injury in the spring. Unlike last season, when they went belly-up when injuries struck, this year they're dealing with it. The addition of Gasol will lighten the scoring load on Bryant, open up the floor for the multi-dimensional Lamar Odom, and create more open perimeter shots for the dangerous long-range shooting of Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Vladimir Radmanovic.

It's a lot trickier with the Suns adding O'Neal to the mix and there are far fewer guarantees that it will work. Sure, Marion was a pain in the butt with his constant complaints about his role, his contract and status in the pecking order. But he had a lot to do with why the roadrunner offense of Mike D'Antoni took them to the conference finals a couple of times. Sure, Steve Nash is the driver, Leandro Barbosa the burner, and Amare Stoudemire the closer, but Marion did everything else but wash dishes.

It's easy to see where fledgling GM Steve Kerr is coming from by adding Shaq - to have the big body they've lacked to match up with the Spurs, Jazz and Nuggets inside. But just how does the Big Fella fit into D'Antoni's offense? He's more apt to stay on one end of the floor like the old Iowa girls basketball games than run with Nash, and just how does he fit in the pick-and-roll, or pick-and-pop out halfcourt game with Nash? He doesn't. So this leaves the onus on D'Antoni to make it work. This will be interesting but still raises the obvious question of why they dumped Kurt Thomas' $8 million contract and two first-round draft choices to Seattle before the season for nothing. They'd have been far better off going for it with the perfect fit of Thomas and not mortgaging future picks as well, considering Shaq will be 36, Nash 34, Grant Hill 35 and Raja Bell 31.

Meanwhile, the defending champion Spurs are wondering how severe the bone spur is on Tony Parker's left heel, and if treatment can allow him to come back in a few weeks and finish the season in the kind of fashion that allowed him to be Finals MVP last year. They're on their "Rodeo road trip" that annually bonds the team and have won three in a row after losing the first two. It's hard to fathom the Spurs - with Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili leading the way - won't be there in the end. And let's face it, they're also the best-equipped mentally to win on the road if they don't regain the home court as the season progresses.

In the event you haven't noticed, last year's fodder in the conference finals for the Spurs - the Jazz - have won 10 in a row and are 16-2 since they acquired Kyle Korver for Gordan Giricek. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer are as dynamic as any duo in the West, and even if they do lack a legit big guy to defend in the middle, there is enough toughness and size to compensate and grab another Northwest Division title. The question is if their interior defense can handle a Duncan or Stoudemire (and now Shaq and Gasol) to win a conference championship.

As for the Mavs, well, this high-powered scoring machine led by Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry just isn't as good as it was. They are 12-12 on the road this season compared to 31-10 last year, which speaks volumes. All you had to do was see Boston's feisty little point guard Rajon Rondo steal a rebound away from Nowitzki for a bucket late in the Celtics' six-point win over the Mavs to see what's wrong. The skills are there. They just aren't tough enough.

Like the Mavs, the Hornets are just a half-game behind the conference-leading Suns going into Thursday's games. Point guard Chris Paul is a bona fide MVP candidate at this point, and David West earned his spot on the All-Star squad with Paul and coach Byron Scott. A case could be made for center Tyson Chandler, too. They are not a fluke. But they are woefully thin on the bench, while they await an answer to see if aggressive forward Chris Andersen will be reinstated after being banned two years for violating the NBA drug policy. If they stay healthy, they've got a shot, but it's hard to believe their youth and bench allows them to stay where they are right now. Still, they're impossible to ignore.

The Nuggets are always dangerous with the trio of Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and uber-defender Marcus Camby. Kenyon Martin is making the interior stronger, too, with his remarkable comeback from microfracture surgery on each knee in consecutive years. They even have solid guys coming off the bench. But they still haven't resolved their point guard situation, and there is an erratic feel to this team that prevents them from reaching the elite level. There remains talk of getting Clippers point guard Sam Cassell via trade or buyout, and that might be the quick fix they need. They'll be more dangerous with him. Without a deal, they'll be more of an annoyance than a serious threat.

The same goes for the Warriors, who along with the Nuggets will work hard to fend off the Trail Blazers and Rockets for those final two playoff spots. The Warriors are that vintage Don Nelson team that will run you out of the gym on a given night and even pulled off that mighty upset last season of the Mavs, exposing them forever more. But the Warriors aren't legit contenders, and if injury-prone star point guard Baron Davis goes down, they're likely to be the first to drop out of the top eight.

The Blazers have been one of the great stories of the year,with emerging star Brandon Roy and the team's toughness in coach Nate McMillan's image, but they're just too young and will be a much more significant contender next season provided rookie center Greg Oden recovers from microfracture knee surgery.

And the Rockets are still the same -- dangerous with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, but lacking anything else to be serious contenders. They still haven't resolved their inadequate point guard situation and nobody else contributes to the cause consistently on the offensive end. In other words, they're not a defensive team and they're not a good offensive team. They just ... are.

So that leaves us with the Spurs, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Hornets and Mavs as the top six, and we'll whittle that down to the Spurs, Suns and Lakers as the top three. As shaky as the Spurs have looked this season, it's still hard to believe they won't be there in the end because of their consistency, defense and the championship-caliber plays Duncan, Ginobili and Parker always make when it matters most.

Adding O'Neal to the Suns is just so bizarre, we'll have to see it to believe it. It should help Stoudemire to have more freedom at his natural power forward position. Moving Marion gives Hill more freedom offensively, too. But this is going to take a while to digest. It will be a huge test for D'Antoni and Nash to make the adjustment to the offense, but on defense, O'Neal clearly gives them a huge presence that, again, will give Stoudemire more room to roam and become an even more effective weak-side shot-blocker.

Meanwhile, the Lakers still loom. For everything Gasol brings, he is still soft defensively despite shot-blocking ability. They really need Bynum back to be the kind of force overall that can win the West. And the big question is when and what he'll be like when he does return. The prognosis was for eight weeks, which means he could be back in five weeks, but keep in mind he's only 20 years old, never had an injury before and his game is still very young in development. How much will this injury set him back mentally? Of course, the wildcard is having Bryant as the superstar to carry the team when all else fails, and Gasol is a solid 20-point scorer who will allow Odom to be even more effective.

Yeah, the Lakers can win it this season. But even if Bynum does manage to pick up where he left off by playoff time, can they beat a healthy Spurs team in a seven-game series? Don't count on it.