Power surge comes from the Pac-10 in the NBA draft
There are NBA drafts that change the balance of power, but this isn't one of them, unless you're talking about the balance of power in the Pacific 10 Conference.
Aside from that, this draft essentially reconfigured the Eastern Conference, starting from the bottom up.
With Chicago taking Derrick Rose at No. 1 and Miami taking Michael Beasley at No. 2 as expected, the fallen Bulls and Heat at least have something to build around.
And talking about rebuilding, there are UCLA and USC.
The Bruins saw sophomore Russell Westbrook go No. 4 to Seattle, freshman Kevin Love go No. 5 to Memphis and junior Luc Mbah a Moute go No. 37 to Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, Trojans freshman O.J. Mayo went No. 3 to Minnesota and freshman Davon Jefferson went undrafted -- after hiring an agent and forgoing his college eligibility.
After the draft, Mayo's rights were reportedly traded to Memphis as part of an eight-player deal for Love.
The draft was the Year of the Pac-10 Freshmen. Five of the first 11 picks were from the Pac-10 and three of those (Mayo, Love, Jerryd Bayless) were freshmen.
A few more seasons like this one and the Pac-10 could be in Division II.
It was also the Year of the Eastern Doormat with four Eastern teams making or agreeing to major deals.
* New Jersey served official notice that the Nets, as well as the New York Knicks, are intent on unloading salary for the summer of 2010, when Cleveland's LeBron James and Miami's Dwyane Wade could be on the market.
The Nets, who traded Jason Kidd during the season, sent Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee for rookie Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.
Total savings for the Nets in 2010: $15 million.
* Milwaukee, intent on getting back in the playoffs with new Coach Scott Skiles, dumped its unhappy 7-foot rookie Yi, who never wanted to be there, and Simmons, whose five-year, $47-million contract was a mistake from the moment the Bucks signed him to it.
* Toronto, which stalled last season, went for it, agreeing to a deal for Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, taking on the last two years -- worth $44 million -- of his contract.
With O'Neal sitting out 40 games a season over the last four and going two seasons since averaging 20 points, this can be summed up in two words:
Good luck.
* Indiana, which had been threatening to break up its team for years, finally did it.
