As a result of yesterday’s NBA draft, I thought we’d be writing about Danilo Gallinari and Brook Lopez, but the Nets stole their thunder before the draft even started.

Hours before the festivities began at Madison Square Garden, New Jersey made a decisive move into its new, post-Jason Kidd future, trading Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. Simmons is a free-agent bust who has two years and $20 million left on his contract, while Yi is a soft but talented power forward who was the sixth overall pick in the draft a year ago.

Nonetheless, the most important player in this trade wasn’t mentioned by name: LeBron James.

Let me explain. By trading Jefferson, who was due to make $15 million in 2010-11, and getting back Yi, who is due only $4 million, and Simmons, whose contract will have expired by then, the Nets clear $11 million in cap space for the summer of 2010.

The summer of 2010, you’ll recall, is when LeBron James becomes a free agent.

And James, you’ll recall, is rather tight with Nets part-owner Jay-Z.

And the Nets, you’ll recall, are slated to move into their new building in Brooklyn in 2010.

Doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to connect the dots, does it?

The Nets will do the best they can with Vince Carter and the gang in the meantime, with the hope that the team stays competitive enough to entice LeBron to make the jump. Certainly there are pieces there — Devin Harris is a keeper, Yi could become a player, and younger players like Lopez, Josh Boone, Sean Williams, Marcus Williams, and Nenad Krstic all have shown signs.

But let’s be realistic: This trade is a giant white flag on the East Rutherford era. Yes, the Nets will still try to win games and make the playoffs and all that fun stuff, but not if it means taking on salary or doing anything else to mess up their cap space in 2010. Basically they’re hunkering down for a two-year stint of mediocrity before LeBron, or possibly some other free agent, rides in to save the day and lure fans to Brooklyn.

By the way, Milwaukee suddenly looks like a real basketball team. Jefferson answered a huge weakness at small forward, Yi wasn’t needed since he was redundant with Charlie Villanueva, and new coach Scott Skiles should help shore up what has been an underachieving defense.

Meanwhile, the Nets came out well from the actual draft. At no. 10, they took Stanford center Brook Lopez after the Bobcats shockingly left him on the board, opting to take Texas point guard D.J. Augustin at no. 9 instead.

Lopez solves the Nets’ need for a “true” center — Boone and Krstic are built more like power forwards, but Lopez is a solid 7 feet, 250 pounds. He can also shoot and score from the post, so this was outstanding value from the no. 10 slot — Lopez had been projected to go as high as fourth. He makes a good complement for Boone in particular and may start right away.

The only thing that should make Nets fans skittish is that, yes, Lopez is another twin from Stanford — his brother Robin went 15th overall to Phoenix. Anyone having Jason Collins flashbacks yet?

At no. 21 — one of the picks they got from the Kidd trade — New Jersey didn’t do as well, as the selection of forward Ryan Anderson from California left me scratching my head. He’s 6 feet, 10 inches and can shoot, but he’s a tweener whom most analysts rated as a second-round talent. And the Nets passed on a huge talent, high-scoring Kansas forward Darrell Arthur, in order to take Anderson.

Back across the river, the Knicks were supposed to be the headline-makers, as they came in owning the sixth overall pick and had several rumored trades on the table. But none of those deals came to fruition — most notably a potential swap of David Lee to Memphis for the sixth pick — and so New York walked away with one player, Italian forward Danilo Gallinari, from the first round.

That the pick was roundly booed by the Knicks fans in MSG for the draft is probably a good sign, actually — few things are a better contrarian indicator than whether the fans boo a draft pick. Gallinari projects as a tougher version of Toni Kukoc, a 6-foot-9-inch forward who can handle the ball, pass, and shoot a little.

Obviously, Mike D’Antoni’s Italian connections probably came into play here. The Knicks coach was a star in the Italian League back in the day, and played with Gallinari’s father, Vittorio. But Gallinari can play. His European numbers from last year project to a solid pro performance right away, and within two years he should be able to fill the Knicks’ hole at small forward. He’s also just 19, so there’s plenty of room for further growth — including physical growth that could see him move to power forward down the road.

At the top of the draft, there were few surprises. Chicago took point guard Derrick Rose first, as expected, while Miami overcame recent indications of disinterest to tab high-scoring power forward Michael Beasley at no. 2. Though he’s a bit of a goofball, Beasley is easily the most talented player in this draft, and I believe Chicago made a major mistake in not selecting him.

After that USC guard O.J. Mayo went third to Minnesota — making the first time that college freshmen went first, second, and third in the draft. Also, ten freshmen went in the first round overall, a new draft record. Clearly, the rule against high schoolers is creating a swarm of one-and-done college players.

The first surprise came when Seattle selected UCLA defensive ace Russell Westbrook, who most had pegged a few spots lower — in fact the Sonics had tried to trade down but a deal with the Clippers fell through. Then Memphis took another Bruin, power forward Kevin Love, one slot later at no. 5, setting up the Knicks to take Gallinari.

But a local product provided the first round’s biggest shocker, when Jason Thompson of tiny Rider was taken at no. 12 by Sacramento — the first Bronc to be drafted in 40 years. He was the only senior chosen in the lottery.

jhollinger@nysun.com