Michael Ventre

If you’ve ever arrived late to a party and all they had left was empty silver trays of crab cake remnants under Sternos and some stale pretzels, you’ll understand the feeling most NBA fans will have when the trade deadline gets here on Thursday. All the good stuff has already gone down.

This period of activity in recent weeks qualifies the NBA to be certified as an official fantasy league. Rarely do stars move as often as they have lately unless geeks are doing it for vicarious thrills.

There still may be a few blips left on the league radar by the time Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline arrives, but they will be afterthoughts. The real action is already in the books, beating the deadline by a wide margin.

Here is how the poker players graded out:

LAKERS: A+
The Lakers began the madness by acquiring Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for practically nothing (Kwame Brown). Actually, the Lakers had to throw in promising rookie Javaris Crittenton and two first-round draft picks, but it was still a heist.

In a way, it was a one-sided deal. In another way, it wasn’t.

The Grizzlies didn’t get Kwame Brown, they got his $9 million expiring contract. They want to rebuild from the dirt up. Perhaps they could have done better, but remember, they had been chatting with the Chicago Bulls about a Gasol deal for months. Gasol had lots of interest around the league, but nobody else made an attractive enough offer. The Grizzlies decided to pull the trigger when they had a chance to acquire a fat salary slot and a rookie guard who might have All-Star talent.

And Gasol has fit in seamlessly with the Lakers. He’s a terrific second option on offense, a reliable scorer as well as a nifty passer and strong rebounder. The Lakers went from a team with a chance to reach the conference semis to one that could win it all.

Apparently Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made it clear that he thinks it was a preposterously lopsided transaction when he only half-kiddingly suggested the league should have a committee to veto such trades. It illustrates what an impact this has had. It also triggered moves by Phoenix and Dallas.

Don’t forget that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak made another deal weeks ago that could prove to be extremely shrewd at playoff time. He got Trevor Ariza from Orlando for pine brothers Brian Cook and Maurice Evans. Ariza played like a reserve dream until he broke his foot in late January. He should return in mid-March, just in time for the Lakers to start their playoff roll — assuming Kobe Bryant’s painful finger cooperates. Too bad they can’t trade for a new pinkie.

SUNS: B+
The transaction that brought Shaquille O’Neal to Phoenix and sent Shawn Marion to Miami sent tremors throughout the Association, but it also raised eyebrows. This is one that is difficult to evaluate on paper, simply because no one really knows what Shaq will bring to the Suns or how he will fit in.

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The Suns get a high grade here, though, because they took a chance. They weren’t going to win an NBA championship the way they were constructed. They needed to shake things up and change their entire dynamic. Shaq surely will do that.

On the plus side, he is still a massive presence in the post who can push and shove with the other team’s center. He can also power his way to the basket for dunks and rip down rebounds over lesser men.

The negatives? The Suns are fast and Shaq is slow, despite what he says at press conferences. And while he isn’t as porky as his legend suggests, he’s a 7-foot-1, 330-pound man who turns 36 next month. It’s only natural that the skills and effectiveness of a professional athlete that size and that age would diminish.

Since the Suns didn’t seem inclined to give Marion a new contract anyway, this is one of those gambles that’s worth taking and deserves kudos.

MAVERICKS: B
Yes, I’m a tough grader. Ordinarily, when a team trades to get a player the caliber of Jason Kidd, it probably begs a grade of A. As most teachers would tell students, “I’d really like to give you an A, I just can’t.”

As I said once before — but it bears repeating here — the Mavericks and Jazz were battling for the honor of being the fourth-best team in the Western Conference, behind the Spurs, Lakers and Suns. After acquiring Kidd, now they have a little edge in that race. But they’re still stuck at that fourth spot.

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Kidd undoubtedly will help, especially at playoff time when the Mavs need a cool head to prevail if Dirk Nowitzki is a no-show again. But they probably should have made another move, too, perhaps to strengthen the front court. As they are currently assembled, the Mavs command respect, but they don’t scare anybody either. And that’s pretty much where they were before they made the Kidd deal.

HAWKS: A-
The Hawks made a deal that might affect the Eastern Conference playoffs? This is late Feb., not April 1, so it can’t be a prank. The league announced it. Wow. Dogs and cats living together.

When Atlanta acquired Mike Bibby, it was notification that the Hawks have decided to move out of the basement permanently. While Bibby’s presence doesn’t make them favorites for the NBA Finals, it does turn them into a contender.

The Hawks acquired Bibby for four players, the most prominent of which was former first-round pick Shelden Williams. They still have a sparkling nucleus that includes Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, rookie Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia. So they didn’t have to gut their team to add a star.

Bibby is an intelligent floor leader and an outstanding shooter from the perimeter and especially from 3-point range.

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