From Orlando to L.A., Charlotte to New Orleans, it is shaping up to be a rather exciting offseason in the NBA — and it’s hardly a week old.

In what was supposed to be a championship year for the Lakers, who were built last summer for that very purpose, the Detroit Pistons shocked the world by upsetting the Lakers in five games, thus shifting the tide of power back to the East in what has been a lopsided league for the past six years.

And like the walls of Mordor, the Lords of the Rings are crumbling. Phil Jackson has stepped down as head coach. Kobe Bryant has opted out of his contract over what many believe is his inability to share the spotlight with Shaq (and Eagle, Colo.). Shaq has even begun demanding a trade, citing poor management by Mitch Kupchak, who succeeded Jerry West as Lakers general manager two years ago.

Where Shaq goes has nothing to do with where he would be the best fit. He has the ability to turn any team into a championship contender.

The question becomes money. His abnormally large contract carries as much weight as his 300-pound frame, possibly causing some teams to trade their entire starting five just to get O’Neal.

This has made for some interesting trade rumors. And they don’t stop with O’Neal.

Tracy McGrady is also looking for a trade, and as of Tuesday night, reports were that the league scoring champion would be packaged up and sent to Houston in exchange for Steve Francis. But Stevie “Franchise” has made public his disinterest in playing in the Magic Kingdom.

With the first pick in Thursday’s draft, Shaq on the move again (Orlando doesn’t want to be left empty-handed like back in 1996, when Shaq bolted for L.A.), and Francis’ history of forcing trades from teams he wishes not to play for (there was once a team in Vancouver?!), Orlando finds itself in the NBA hot seat.

Rumors have also sprung up in Philadelphia about trading Allen Iverson. The 76ers have been looking at this possibility for a while, and the most notable possibility is to send Iverson to Toronto in exchange for Vince Carter.

Before all this can shake out, there are not one, but two drafts, that need to be held. The first, which took place on Tuesday night, was to select the inaugural members of the new Charlotte Bobcats, a team owned by BET executive Bob Johnson. Not only does the addition of the Bobcats cause players to be moved around, but it also brings the league to 30 teams.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

Since the 1970-71 season, the NBA has been a four-division league (two divisions in each conference). In each conference, there have been two division champions, seeded No. 1 and No. 2. Next season, instead of two divisions in each conference, there will be three, each with only five teams.

This could conceivably make it more difficult for a team to make the playoffs without winning its division.

In order to make all of this work, the Hornets, which left Charlotte for New Orleans two years ago, are being forced out of the Eastern Conference. And they will get no love upon arrival out in the wild, wild West, sharing divisional ties with Dallas, Houston, Memphis and San Antonio, all of which qualified for the playoffs in the aforementioned “power” conference.

The new divisional alignment, had it been in place this season, would have seen a team like Denver, which hadn’t made the playoffs in 10 years, not only make the playoffs as the eighth seed out west, but also would have seen it finish second in its division behind Minnesota, instead of finishing sixth.

Although this may make no difference in the long run, it looks a lot better to a team like Chicago, which finished eighth in the Central Division this past season, to finish fifth in its division. And every small victory counts in Chicago, since they are few and far between these days.

The playoffs would also have looked different this year as a result of realignment. Miami would have been the third seed in the east this year.

Detroit would have dropped down to the fourth seed, possibly forcing a semifinal matchup with the Indiana Pacers, instead of the conference final that ensued.

The new alignment would also have allowed both ‘Melo and LeBron to extend their seasons in the playoffs as each conference’s respective eighth seed.