Besides being inaptly named – Portland aside, not one of the four other members of this group is even remotely close to America’s geographic northwest – the NBA’s Northwest Division is often the league’s forgotten bunch.

Distant from major media centers and lacking star power and elite teams, the Northwest also had a relatively quiet off-season – save for the drama and bitterness that laced the shifting of the Seattle franchise to Oklahoma City.

As for player movement, the one that figures to have the most impact on the NBA season is the gifting of Marcus Camby to the Clippers by Denver, which was motivated by the chance to escape hefty luxury tax charges as the Nuggets settled for nothing more than the right to swap second-round picks in return.

Here’s a look at the summer work turned in by the Northwest’s five members ranked in order of significance of activity:

DENVER

COMING – The Nuggets’ attempt to make up for the defense and rebounding Camby gave them was to sign Chris Andersen in free agency. Given their limited resources, it wasn’t a bad move. But he’s a long way from Camby. The other move Denver made was adding Renaldo Balkman via trade from the Knicks when the whirling dervish style of Balkman seemed an ill fit with Mike D’Antoni’s more finesse-reliant offensive system.

GOING - Marcus Camby represented a pretty significant value in terms of today’s NBA dollars when he put up the rebounding and shot-blocking numbers he provided at $8 million a year. It’s hard to imagine Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson are going to be happy campers next season without the man happy to do the dirty work no longer on their side. Another who fit that description: Eduardo Najera, who left to sign with New Jersey as a free agent.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Anthony Carter (Chucky Atkins); shooting guard: Allen Iverson (J.R. Smith, though he remains a restricted free agent); center: Nene (Chris Andersen, Steven Hunter); power forward: Kenyon Martin (Linas Kleiza); small forward: Carmelo Anthony (Renaldo Balkman, Sonny Weems).

BOTTOM LINE – The Nuggets squeaked into the playoffs last season, outlasting Golden State in the season’s final week to claim the No. 8 seed, then got promptly swept by the Lakers in the first round. Anthony ended the feel-good story by saying he and his teammates quit. Yikes. It’s hard to see much reason for optimism that things will be better without the defensive anchor Camby provided still around.

PORTLAND

COMING – GM Kevin Pritchard loves shuffling bodies and using the vast economic resources of multibillionaire owner Paul Allen to his advantage and he’s done a remarkable and radical makeover of the Trail Blazers in short order. This year’s highlights included the big draft night deal that netted Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless, who lit up the Las Vegas Summer League, and power forward Ike Diogu, who many still think just needs to find the right home. Pritchard drafted French teen Nicolas Batum, who isn’t likely to have any impact this season but has tantalizing athletic potential. The most significant additions, though, figure to be two 2007 No. 1 picks who didn’t play last season – overall No. 1 pick Greg Oden and Spanish shooting guard Rudy Fernandez.

GOING – The trade with Indiana that added Diogu and Bayless cost the Pacers draft choice Brandon Rush in addition to solid point guard Jarrett Jack plus throw-in Josh McRoberts. Because the Blazers already had Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw at small forward, they let another useful part, James Jones, get away in free agency. They have plenty of depth already at the positions where they lost players.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Steve Blake (Sergio Rodriguez, Jerryd Bayless); shooting guard: Brandon Roy (Rudy Fernandez); center: Greg Oden (Joel Przybilla, Raef LaFrentz); power forward: LaMarcus Aldridge (Ike Diogu, Channing Frye); small forward: Martell Webster (Travis Outlaw, Nicolas Batum).

BOTTOM LINE – If Oden can immediately become a defensive and rebounding force, Portland will be in playoff contention – although the young Blazers run the risk of getting beaten down early by a brutal scheduling stretch. Many think Fernandez has star potential, which could lead to Nate McMillan making greater use of Roy at point guard in an oversized backcourt. Pritchard probably isn’t finished dealing, though it might not happen until February. He’d love to trade some quantity for even better quality.

MINNESOTA

COMING – By draft night, the overwhelming consensus among NBA talent evaluators was that O.J. Mayo was no worse than the third-best talent in the draft. So Kevin McHale took him with the No. 3 pick, then packaged him off to Memphis later for No. 5 pick Kevin Love, getting one of the NBA’s premier long-range shooters, Mike Miller, as the premium and unloading Marko Jaric’s bad contract as a bonus. How this trade will be judged is going to depend on how Love pans out. McHale was the beneficiary of Philadelphia’s desire to create enough cap space to sign Elton Brand when he got the ultra-athletic Rodney Carney on the cheap from the 76ers. Carney projects as Minnesota’s starting small forward.

GOING – The Timberwolves wound up with a glut of power forwards, partly as the result of taking back Brian Cardinal from Memphis in the Mayo deal, and that might cost them last year’s promising No. 2 pick, Chris Richard. Other than that, the only players lost were the flotsam sent to Memphis as spare parts.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Randy Foye (Sebastian Telfair); shooting guard: Mike Miller (Rashad McCants, Ryan Gomes); center: Al Jefferson (Calvin Booth, Jason Collins); power forward: Kevin Love (Craig Smith, Mark Madsen, Brian Cardinal); small forward: Rodney Carney (Corey Brewer).

BOTTOM LINE – NBA scouts were wildly divided on Love. Some think he’s so strong, skilled and technically proficient that he’ll be an instant impact player. Others believe he’s too undersized and earthbound to ever be more than a fringe starter. He and Jefferson as the starting inside tandem will leave Minnesota vulnerable to any teams with inside scoring punch. Still, the talent is improved enough over last season that the Timberwolves could flirt with the 30-win mark.

OKLAHOMA CITY

COMING – They’re ready to embrace a team of their own in Oklahoma City and that patience counts as an asset for GM Sam Presti as he goes about the job of rebuilding the … whatever they’re going to call themselves. That gave Presti the latitude to not overspend for a marginally talented free agent this summer on a roster where such a signing wouldn’t have ultimately mattered much. The big splash of the off-season was spending the No. 4 pick in the draft on UCLA sophomore point guard Russell Westbrook, whose athleticism and size give him a chance to be an instant impact player on the defensive end while his offense catches up. Presti made a minor move this week that added two rotation pieces in much-traveled power forward Joe Smith and athletic small forward Desmond Mason, an Oklahoma State product who should help sell a few more tickets. OKC traded up with the Pistons to snare Indiana power forward D.J. White with the 29th pick and last week traded a future second-rounder to Charlotte for Kyle Weaver, an athletic defensive guard. White should slide into the rotation for his size and mature game as a rebounder and defender, though he might be a little undersized at the NBA level. A third No. 1 pick, Serge Ibaka, is only 18 and will get some badly needed seasoning overseas. Second-rounder DeVon Hardin has lottery-type athletic ability in a big body but had puny production at Cal and he, too, is headed overseas.

GOING – The Smith-Mason deal cost Oklahoma City point guard Luke Ridnour, whose absence makes room for Westbrook to step in as the understudy to veteran Earl Watson. Also sent packing was vet Adrien Griffin. OKC lost no one of else of consequence. Third-year center Robert Swift, an unsigned free agent, is likely to return for lack of another offer.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Russell Westbrook (Earl Watson); shooting guard: Kevin Durant (Damien Wilkins, Kyle Weaver); center: Nick Collison (Johan Petro, Mohamed Sene); power forward: Chris Wilcox (Joe Smith, D.J. White, Donyell Marshall); small forward: Jeff Green (Desmond Mason, Ronald Dupree).

BOTTOM LINE – A weak frontcourt and an inexperienced if talented perimeter add up to another season of painful losses for a franchise whose fans probably won’t pay much attention to the scoreboard, anyway. The season will be measured mostly by how far Durant and Green progress in their second seasons and how surely Westbrook shows he was the right pick at No. 4 over Jerryd Bayless and others.

UTAH

COMING – The Jazz appear to have adopted Toronto’s philosophy of exploring the international market as a way of combating the perception of Salt Lake City as a less than desirable destination. After taking Kosta Koufos – an American who grew up in Ohio and played one year at Ohio State – in the first round, the Jazz invested in the foreign futures market in second-rounders Ante Tomic and Tadija Dragicevic. Other than that, the sum of their summer activity consisted of a swap of No. 3 point guards with the Clippers, adding Brevin Knight and matching Oklahoma City’s offer sheet to restricted free agent C.J. Miles.

GOING – Beyond the dealing of Jason Hart in the Knight trade, the Jazz let another potential No. 3 point guard leave when restricted free agent Dee Brown, who almost went to Summer League with the Pistons, signed an offer sheet with Washington that Utah chose not to match.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Deron Williams (Ronnie Price, Brevin Knight); shooting guard: Ronnie Brewer (Kyle Korver, Morris Almond); center: Mehmet Okur (Jarron Collins, Kosta Koufos, Kyrylo Fesenko); power forward: Carlos Boozer (Paul Millsap); small forward: Andrei Kirilenko (Matt Harpring, C.J. Miles).

BOTTOM LINE – Unless GM Kevin O’Connor wanted to roll the dice and trade Boozer one year before he runs the risk of losing him as a free agent, it was pretty wise to stand pat. With Williams emerging as one of the game’s top talents, the Jazz looks like the surest challenge to the Lakers for Western supremacy.