Well. Wasn’t that just so … so … Lakers-like.

They acquire Steve Nash in a thunderclap of a sign-and-trade agreement with the Suns, which will be finalized after the league-wide moratorium on signing contracts is lifted July 11. The same Steve Nash who said he couldn’t envision joining the Lakers. The same Suns who had seemed set against making it easier for a division rival.

In a direct response to losing ground in the Western Conference — both overall and to their city rivals, the Clippers — the Lakers pulled off a thrilling move that is bound to make them better next season.

By today, as the shock that the Lakers landed a star point guard without giving up a single player (and, at 38, Nash is still a star) wears off, the team seems poised to win in a new way. That’s saying something after all the winning through the years. That’s especially saying something after all the losing the last two seasons.

The Lakers have one victory in their last nine West semifinal games. Yet here they are in the early days of free agency, returning to the list of legitimate threats in the Western Conference after stealing free-agent Nash from the hopeful Raptors and Knicks. The cost? Their first-round picks in 2013 and 2015 and second-rounders in 2013 and ’14. L.A. went into the offseason needing the most help at point guard and small forward and eliminated one of those problems without spending its biggest trade chip, Pau Gasol.

In the next nine to 11 months, we will see if the Lakers can be reincarnated before our very eyes … again.

Joe Johnson Signs With Brooklyn:

The first domino to fall was supposed to be Deron Williams’ decision between Dallas and Brooklyn. Instead, it turned out to be the Hawks’ decision to hire Danny Ferry as their new GM. One 48-hour period saw Ferry send Marvin Williams to the Jazz and Joe Johnson to the Nets for Devin Harris and enough cap space to construct his own “Big Three” in the near future.

On the other hand, one of Ferry’s trading partners, Nets GM Billy King, has effectively been rolling the dice ever since he dealt for Williams. Having taken on the (admirable) risk in acquiring Williams, King was forced to make move after move in the hopes of persuading Williams to stay.

On Wednesday night, most everyone believed that Mavericks free agent Jason Kiddwould be coming back to Dallas next season for what league sources believed would be a three-year, $9.5 million deal. But on Thursday, according to a source, Kidd changed his mind and accepted a similar deal to play with the Knicks next season, leaving Dallas in the lurch for a starting point guard for next season.

Kidd, second on the NBA’s all-time list in assists and steals, will bring veteran poise and leadership to the Knicks next season, whether he is starting or coming off the bench. New York struggled to find consistent, quality point guard play for most of the season, other than when Jeremy Lin captivated the nation in February with a sterling stretch of play. The Knicks are likely to match any offer for Lin, a restricted free agent who met with the Rockets Wednesday, and who Knicks coach Mike Woodson called his unequivocal starter for next season.

Kidd only averaged 6.2 points and 5.5 assists for Dallas last season, the lowest averages of his career in those stats, and he is not the defensive force he was when he starred with the New Jersey Nets. But he’s still an outstanding passer, a much improved perimeter shooter compared to earlier in his career and a proven leader.

A full season of a Lin-Kidd tandem at the point, along with a return to health of guard Iman Shumpert–who tore knee ligaments during the Knicks’ first-round loss to Miami–could make New York a formidable challenger in the east next season.

The 39-year-old Kidd may have been influenced by Dallas’ inability to secure the services of free agents despite clearing significant cap room last season by not bringing back key components of the team that won the NBA title in 2011. The Mavericks let starting center Tyson Chandler go to New York, and didn’t make substantial offers for guard J.J. Barea, who signed with Minnesota. Instead, the Mavericks hoped they’d be able to convince free agent Deron Williams to come.

At one point, the Mavericks dreamed of being able to get both Williams and Dwight Howard to come as free agents, but Howard’s decision to opt in for the final year of his contract made that dream less likely. The Mavericks looked like they struck gold last December when they were able to acquire forward Lamar Odom from the Lakers, but Odom had a disastrous year, was removed from the team late in the regular season and was traded to the Clippers last month in a four-team deal that sent guard Mo Williams to Utah.

On Monday, Jason Terry, a free agent after this past season, agreed to terms on a three-year deal with Boston. On Tuesday, Williams decided to remain in Brooklyn with the Nets, and the Mavs’ hopes of bringing Steve Nash back seven years after he left town for Phoenix were dashed on Wednesday when the Lakers and Suns agreed to a sign-and-trade at Nash’s request that will send him to Los Angeles in exchange for four future Draft picks and cash.

That left Kidd, the Mavs’ starter at the point the last four-plus seasons since coming to Dallas in a trade from New Jersey in 2008, as the team’s next target.

Now that Kidd is apparently leaving as well, Dallas will go to the next names on their list: restricted free agent guard Aaron Brooks and Clippers unrestricted free agent Randy Foye. The Mavs will also try to re-sign guard Delonte West. Dallas does have an $8.9 million trade exception that was created in the Odom deal after the Mavericks only took back the Draft rights to forward Tadija Dragicevic from Utah and cash from Houston instead of salaries.

After retiring in late 2011 because of recurring troubles with his knees, 27-year-old guard Brandon Roydecided Thursday night to return to the NBA, agreeing to terms with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a two-year deal worth $10.4 million, according to a league source.

Roy picked Minnesota over Dallas, Indiana, Golden State and Cleveland, which had gotten into his list of finalists, according to his agent, Greg Lawrence. Roy had originally considered the Bulls, but Chicago fell out of the running due to the severe limits on its payroll in the next few years. Derrick Rose‘s $95 million contract extension kicks in next season and the Bulls still owe Carlos Boozer $47 million over the next three seasons and Luol Deng $27 million over the next two. Chicago would not have been able to offer Roy anything more than the $3.09 million non-taxpayer’s cap exception next season, and the Bulls were put further under the gun earlier this week when the Rockets gave reserve center Omer Asik a commitment for a three-year, $25 million offer sheet, which Chicago will have three days to match when the free-agent moratorium ends next week.