On the eve of tipping the regular season off against Dallas, the Cavaliers got one major piece back, but lost another.

Sasha Pavlovic finally got a satisfying enough deal from the Cavaliers to sign on the dotted line, so he'll rejoin them within the week, pending a physical. He settled for less than he was originally hoping to get, but is getting more money and more years than his one-year qualifying offer would've offered.

Things don't seem like they're going to be as easy with Anderson Varejao, and any leverage the Cavs could've gained in negotiations by signing veteran Juwan Howard went out the window when the recently bought-out power forward opted to head south to reinforce the Mavericks' frontcourt. Varejao will need to come down from his demand of $10 million per season in order to rejoin the Cavaliers, but it looks more and more like Cleveland is going to have to bend a little to get its 6-10 Sideshow Bob clone out of Brazil.

P.J. Brown and Chris Webber remain unsigned, but only Brown would be an option and the money it would cost to lure him out of retirement would be better spent toward re-signing Varejao. See, the Cavs really like him. They love his hustle and how he's developing, but he's demanding an amount of money that would make him a salary cap pariah if he's a flop. It would be fiscally irresponsible for GM Danny Ferry to give in. The only way he'd be able to justify giving Varejao that much money is if he expects him to blossom into super-stardom, as was the case with Denver when it shelled out the big bucks for Nene.

Orlando re-signed Jameer Nelson to a contract extension prior to the season opener. Although terms of the deal weren't disclosed, the word on the street is he received five years and about $30 million, which means he'll be counted upon to be a critical part of the Magic's core, alongside Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard, for the foreseeable future.

When he wasn't extended prior to last season, it was said that Orlando GM Otis Smith and then-coach Brian Hill were taking the wait-and-see approach to see if Nelson would become the facilitator they wanted him to be. He did enough to justify the security and now becomes a major building block for a team on the rise. Improvement is going to be the key, because he'll have to defer to Howard and now Lewis. He was a scoring point guard at Saint Joseph's and has carried that mentality over to the pros with varying degrees of success, but his leadership skills are there, so the Magic are banking that further development will come.

Atlanta officially let the Oct. 31 deadline to extend Josh Smith and Josh Childress pass without making a move, a potentially dangerous gamble in Smith's case, given his development. Both Joshes will be restricted free agents following the season in what looks like it will be one of the richest crops of free-agent talent in league history. Despite the depth of the pool, Smith figures to get a lucrative offer considering his defensive prowess and his expanding offensive game, but uncertainty with the ownership situation resulted in the situation going unresolved.

Similarly, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon also enter the season without being extended, which leaves both open to command higher salaries next summer. Both are names being floated in the Kobe Bryant saga, so you would think that any moves involving them would necessitate the Lakers operating on the assumption that they'll be able to wrap up long-term deals down the road. Kirk Hinrich signed his extension, worth $47.5 million over five years, just before the deadline last regular season.

Despite the plan being to get Emeka Okafor extended, Charlotte let the deadline come and go without reaching an agreement. It looks like Michael Jordan wants to see if his prized big man can stay healthy and improve his offensive arsenal before offering top dollar. Okafor, like the Joshes, Deng and Gordon, will be restricted.

Options that were understandably picked up because they offered bargain rates on promising players included the Lakers' Andrew Bynum, Houston's Luther Head, Boston's Rajon Rondo, Denver's Linas Kleiza and New Orleans' Chris Paul and Hilton Armstrong.

The first night of the NBA season proved that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

San Antonio defended its home court again.

Utah discarded Golden State's edge at Oracle Arena and picked up where it left off when it turned the clock to midnight on Cinderella last postseason, snuffing out one of the league's most potent attacks while piling up 117 points in 21-point blowout.

The night's central theme, predictably, involved Kobe Bryant breaking his May 30 promise never to wear a Lakers uniform again, then going out and having his worst fears realized.

The Lakers organization vs. Kobe theme took another step forward, with the uncertainty surrounding his situation continuing to foster awkward moments. There were a number of fans that actually booed Bryant in his castle.

Magic Johnson, L.A.'s minority owner and executive vice president, sitting in his customary spot at the TNT studios, didn't hide from the situation and called out the Lakers for not having a united voice, and said that in watching his guys' body language, it's obvious this situation has come to a head.

"Whether we trade him or keep him," Johnson said, "we've got to come to a decision on this in the next week or two."

Earlier in the night, he called out Bryant, saying he "should've been smarter" in throwing teammates under the bus over the summer and for not mending fences with Shaquille O'Neal when he had the chance.

With little around him, Bryant's 45 points were only enough to make a potential double-digit home loss to Houston a painful 95-93 setback. Bryant shot 13-for-32 from the field, took a career-high 27 free throws, and exhausted himself having to deal with double- and triple-teams while trying to handle Tracy McGrady on the other end.

It was like watching an NBA version of that Soulja Boy song. (Watch me crank it, watch me roll...) Kobe nearly pulled off the whole Superman thing there at the end.

He helped fuel a 12-0 run in the final 1:25 to even things up, only to see Shane Battier win it for Houston with a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds and a smart foul to deny Kobe from playing hero and tying the game again.

With his wrist visibly hurting after getting walloped by Chuck Hayes, Bryant made his point about leaving it out on the floor in the sincere desire to play for a winner. Somebody, anybody.

Magic being Magic, he can basically say whatever he wants to anyone he wants, but Kobe being Kobe, he will no doubt hear about it and put it in the back pocket of insults coming from an organization he feels has betrayed him.

In other opening night happenings:

Originally, Portland was placed on television in order to introduce us all to Greg Oden, but with the top pick sidelined, another young big man used the opportunity to say hello.

LaMarcus Aldridge, the No. 2 pick of the 2006 draft, scored the season's first basket and never stopped. The 22-year-old dropped 27 points on an array of jump hooks and nice, short jumpers that are going to complement Oden nicely when he becomes available next season.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy had a rough night, harassed into 2-of-10 shooting, but he missed all but two preseason games and was undoubtedly rusty. If Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw are able to shoot as well as they did from the perimeter and keep teams honest, Portland is going to give teams fits if Oden can make his expected impact. The Blazers gave a nice account of themselves, keeping San Antonio from turning the first game of '07-'08 into another rout.

Andrei Kirilenko looked like his old self, which should encourage fans who thought the days of the versatile Russian being useful for Utah were over. Although he did force up a few shots that are going to make Jerry Sloan wince when he watches film, he was active defensively and on the boards and wound up with a team-high eight assists. Then again, Kirilenko looked good against Golden State in the playoffs last spring, but was awful against everyone else.

Carlos Boozer exposed the Warriors' lack of a post defender last May and controlled the game for his team on Tuesday, fouling out Andris Biedrins and finishing with 32 points and 15 boards. Golden State just doesn't have an answer for a big man with his skills.

Reggie Theus better get his love on this little homecoming tour the Kings have organized for him this preseason, playing games in Las Cruces, N.M. and Las Vegas, Nev., former stomping grounds as college coach and player, because things are going to get tougher from him when the season tips.

Sure, Sacramento is excited to have him back, but he's not going to look as lovable during his honeymoon period as he would've with Ron Artest and Mike Bibby around to help get him off to a good start. Both will be out, Artest due to a seven-game, league-mandated suspension and Bibby due to a nasty surprise that came down on Friday night. Sacramento's point guard tore ligaments in his thumb falling in practice on Thursday and will be out for about six weeks.

This is eerily similar to the wrist injury that got him off to such a slow start last year, where he struggled to shoot straight after rushing back.

It's also similar to Memphis' situation last season, where Pau Gasol went out and the Grizzlies, lost without him, never recovered.

The Kings will try to survive by playing up-tempo and Kevin Martin, John Salmons, Francisco Garcia and dimunitive second-year combo guard Quincy Douby to make up for the absences of their two most recognizable players.

Making matters worse, the schedule does them no favors, sending them to New Orleans, San Antonio and Dallas to get things started. Call me a pessimist, but that looks like 0-3 to me.

Can't say I've ever heard of a basketball team losing three players who essentially play the same position before, but it happened to Chicago in its final preseason game on Thursday night.

Center Ben Wallace, who said he's never had a sprain in his 33 years, landed on the foot of the Bucks' Dan Gadzuric and had to leave in the second quarter. Tyrus Thomas, potentially the starting power forward, hurt his right foot and left in the third, while rookie Joakim Noah rolled an ankle early in the fourth.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that all x-rays came back negative. The three have until Oct. 31 to recover before the season opener against the Nets, but it looks like Joe Smith and rookie Aaron Gray might have to get ready for extended action.

My question is, what was Scott Skiles thinking having all three of those guys anywhere near the arena in a meaningless preseason game? Yes, I'm only kidding.

Fortunately for Chicago, it has a lot of bodies up front, but what an unbelievably bad break just days before the lights come on. The Bulls just have to hope it's not a sign of things to come.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss could've kept quiet if he really wanted to. He didn't have to give the Lakers beat reporters a 38-minute interview in Honolulu, and he certainly didn't have to be forthright in his discussions about star shooting guard Kobe Bryant.

He did it anyway, and I commend him for it. It might not have been the smartest move, but turnabout is fair play. Bryant spouted off to the media on multiple occasions over the summer before finally quieting, and on Tuesday, Buss responded with his thoughts, admitting that L.A. did listen to offers for the face of its franchise over the past three months, and that Bryant was aware of it.

"What was offered was not ever under consideration. And I told Kobe that. I told him I would try my best to accommodate his wishes, but that I could not afford to let him go unless we got comparable talent, if there is such a thing," Buss said. "I even told him occasionally what I was offered and I said, 'You have to know that this is not in favor of the Lakers. This would just be terrible to do.' And he said, 'I understand.'"

What Bryant may not be as understanding about is having this business put out there again, especially after he's tried to dismiss his offseason meltdown and subsequent desire to play on Pluto if it meant getting away from the lying Lakers as "water under the bridge."

Buss, by being so forthright with reporters, just threw the story a life raft. The Lakers owner admitted that the possibility exists that Bryant will threaten to opt out of his 88.6 million dollar contract in two years, and if the writing is on the wall that that's inevitable, he'll be moved to avoid risking losing him for nothing.

"If he still is in that frame of mind, then hopefully we can do a sign-and-trade and get some comparable talent. I would like to think that we'd win in between now and then so that it doesn't come up."

That concession is very innocent, and honestly, has to be looked at as common sense. Still, Bryant is very sensitive about what gets out there about him, and could take the owner's statements as another slap in the face from a franchise he said has wronged him and made him a scapegoat while spiraling towards mediocrity since moving Shaquille O'Neal.

"You can't keep too many loyalties," Buss said. "You've got to look at it as a business. He looks at it the same way I look at it."

Rest assured, Bryant won't be happy that Buss didn't give the L.A. media token responses to further sweep this summer of discontent under the rug. For starters, he's going to have to respond to Buss' responses, which serves as a potential distraction towards preparation for the coming season. The soap opera continues. Told you it would.

The ball is now in Bryant's court, but since he did suggest that the Lakers organization has been talking out of both sides of its mouth, he has to respect the fact that Buss was candid with his version of the truth, and didn't say anything particularly inflammatory.

In fact, the majority of his Lakers teammates have more reason to take offense at the owner's comments, because he basically put it out there that only a small fraction of the roster actually has any trade value around the league. Check out this nugget from Mike Bresnahan's Los Angeles Times article.

"We've got two or three players that people would like to have, but they want them giving us not comparable returns, I am aware of every single trade that he (GM Mitch Kupchak) has tried to make. What we had to offer just wasn't sufficient for them.

"One of the big problems we had was that Kwame (Brown) and Lamar (Odom) were both injured at the end of the year so that nobody knew how they would come back. The other guy that was good was (Andrew) Bynum and nobody knew, 'How good is he?' Nobody knows yet, really."

You have to appreciate the man's honesty. Well, unless you're Kobe. Welcome back.

Boston and Toronto played the first basketball game of the 2007-08 season on Saturday afternoon, and it packed a pleasant surprise.

It wasn't your typical exhibition game. I'll stop short of saying there was playoff intensity, but the sellout crowd in Rome got a game worthy of a quality regular season opener, aided by the buzz of watching Boston's "Wonder Triplets" unite.

The Celtics won 89-85 in an exhibition where there was actually strong defense played, at least until legs tired late in both halves.

Kevin Garnett is going to be an MVP candidate this season. He looks rejuvenated in green and wound up with 19 points and 16 rebounds.

It's going to be great watching Boston click if everyone stays healthy, but it's obvious how much better Garnett makes his new teammates, especially young center Kendrick Perkins, who is going to thrive playing next to someone so smart.

Chris Bosh was in early preseason form, which makes sense considering he's spent his summer resting his feet. He nearly posterized Paul Pierce, filling out a break in the third, though.

Andrea Bargnani is clearly more comfortable in his second year, and spending the summer as Italy's go-to guy has obviously served him well. He looks far more assertive.

Boston's biggest question mark, whether second-year guard Rajon Rondo can run with the big boys, won't be a concern. He already looks comfortable getting everybody into sets and doesn't look out of place next to his All-Star teammates. In fact, he's the quickest and most athletic. It reminded me that this time last year, Rondo was impressive, too. (Scroll down to Oct. 11, 2006, entry).

Sure, "Gumby" Rondo might prove to be another "Mr. October," but I wouldn't lose sleep over that possibility. If players were stocks, I'd be loading up on shares of Rondo. He's going to get it done.

Toronto's point guard drama looks like it's not going to end. The Jose Calderon contingent had more reason to believe the Spaniard should start ahead of T.J. Ford, because the Raptors did appear to execute better without him.

Other impressions of note: Jason Kapono started for the Raptors, ahead of incumbent Jorge Garbajosa. ... Eddie House can thank Reggie Miller for passing on all those open jumpers he's going to get fat on coming off the Boston bench. ... Tony Allen's surgically repaired knee looked great as he threw down a dunk in the lane, but he landed weird and came out of the game.

Though it will be fun to see the Raptors, Celtics, Wolves and Grizzlies take on teams like Read Madrid and Turkey's Efes Pilsen, I can't imagine any game of the NBA's Europe Live tour is going to be quite as entertaining as the first one. The Raptors and Celtics were setting the foundation for an emerging Atlantic Division rivalry, and both wasted no time in testing themselves against one another.

It's amusing that many Clevelanders are so enraged about LeBron James' allegiance to the New York Yankees.

If you're one of those who believe he owes you something beyond his sterling representation of the city's basketball team, consider yourself the equivalent of those Canadian soldiers that attacked at Jacobs Field on Friday night. Your bugging him is annoying.

James' decision to publicly back his favorite team by wearing a New York baseball cap during the opening game of the ALDS has become the talk of the town, upstaging the Tribe's improbable advantage over baseball's most hated franchise. It seems many of the vocal majority that inhabits the small market that could is charging LeBron with a blatant act of treason.

What, you want the guy’s Ohio birth certificate burned? Somebody actually put pen to paper and called for him to get out of town?

C-town prides itself on being an underdog, but the public indignation is a bit much. Know how it sucks when somebody tells you what to think, like I'm doing right now?

Still, I'll intervene with a helpful reminder that getting mad at another person over personal beliefs as frivolous as what baseball team they root for is probably an early hint that you're controlling and might need counseling.

Seriously, can't you let the guy keep at least some area where he can try and be a normal human being? Did you ever think that he was just trying to have a little fun with the city's Indians fan, and be satisfied with the consolation that it seems to be blowing up in his face?

Cleveland natives are taking that "It's Tribe Town Now" slogan written on the latest batch of playoff towels way too seriously. Concern yourself with how he represents your city on the basketball court, and take solace he hasn't disgraced you by organizing doggie bouts or shooting up night clubs.

James brought the city joy in the spring and is preparing to do it all over again in a few weeks. Shouldn't he be able to enjoy his October baseball anyway he wants just like everybody else?

If you want LeBron gone, remember your childish tunnel vision if he grants your wish one day.