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So ... that escalated quickly. With the NBA offseason barely a week old, executives around the league embraced aggressive wheeling and dealing Tuesday. From Paul George to Dwight Howard, the NBA world was reeling from one minute to the next. Here's a rundown of the winners and losers -- a full 10 days before free agency starts.

Winners

Indiana Pacers: The market for Paul George has exploded, and that's good for the Pacers, who needed to develop a market for George because he told the team he won't re-sign and has a preferred destination (Lakers). As talks involving the Cavaliers continued, and after the Clippers popped up in rumors Monday, the Lakers became involved in reported talks for George on Tuesday. The Lakers had indicated they wouldn't deal younger players in a deal for George. But they moved D'Angelo Russell in a separate deal Tuesday to clear cap space for 2018, which seems to indicate a push for stars like George. That could open the door for Indiana to acquire Julius Randle, and if that were to happen, the Pacers will have made lemonade from moldy lemons. The expanded George market -- which includes a reported half-dozen teams -- improves Indiana's leverage, which was compromised when George made it known he wanted out of Indiana.

Brooklyn Nets: Since the CBA changed in 2011, expiring contracts have been difficult to move. Overall, contracts are shorter, teams have cap space sooner and don't have to sacrifice to generate it. So even though the Nets surrendered their best player in Brook Lopez, they did so on an expiring contract and got a potential star point guard in D'Angelo Russell. Russell comes with baggage, but none of it on-court. If he conquers his maturity issues, Russell could be the kind of guard coveted in today's NBA. If he doesn't, Brooklyn gave up a single season of a 30-year-old Lopez in what would figure to be another lost season. The trade for Russell was a no-brainer.

Charlotte Hornets: They gave up nothing in a deal for Dwight Howard, and while D-12 is on the downside, he still had some great moments on defense last season for Atlanta. He gives Kemba Walker a finisher around the hoop and bolsters rebounding and rim protection. For what they gave up (second rounders and Miles Plumlee), this was a solid gamble for a franchise that took a step back last season. 

Losers

Cleveland Cavaliers: Things heated up when the Cavs reportedly were involved in Jimmy Butler talks, but word later surfaced that Butler wants to stay in Chicago and wouldn't commit to signing long term with Cleveland. To make matters worse, with rumors swirling about LeBron James' potential departure in 2018, word came that Kyrie Irving may demand a trade if James takes his talents elsewhere. That would set up a complete rebuild. And with the Lakers back into George trade talks, Cleveland is losing ground rather than closing the gap between themselves and the Warriors. This all happened the day after they fired their championship GM.  

Lakers fans who have patience: The new regime has preached patience and letting their young players grow. And maybe that's still the case; they still have Randle and Brandon Ingram and possibly Lonzo Ball coming in the draft. But the Lakers also cleared Timofey Mozgov's cap space, and while erasing that bad contract is a win, it also looks like they intend to pursue big-name free agents. If that's the plan, it's great if they land George and another star (even James has been mentioned). But if they miss, there's potential for disaster, and those fans who wanted to see the young Lakers grow together may be faced with more rebuilding.

Suffering Knicks fans: Why on Earth would they consider trading Kristaps Porzingis? Why would they let that info leak, damaging an already damaged relationship with their star forward? The asking price for Porzingis reportedly is "extremely high" but that does not change the fact that they are poisoning a vital well. Even for Phil Jackson's questionable run in NYC, this one is a head-scratcher.