Chauncey Billups is very likely to be back as the Pistons’ incumbent point guard after a summer in which his name popped up in trade rumors for the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady, but he still might feel a sense of disorientation as he looks around the Central Division.

Because each of the four other teams in the division will have new point guards running the show.

It was that kind of summer for the Central Division. Joe Dumars made waves back in June when he publicly announced that any of his veteran starters could be had in trade, but the Pistons’ four division rivals all will feature more dramatically different looks for the coming season.

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

MILWAUKEE

COMING – John Hammond hit the ground running after taking over the Bucks late last season when Milwaukee managed what others had failed to accomplish in recent years – pry Hammond from his role as Dumars’ vice president with the Pistons. He made waves with his draft-night deal that netted Richard Jefferson from New Jersey, then further fortified the position by taking Joe Alexander in the lottery and defensive-minded Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in the second round. Hammond rebuilt the point guard position, trading for Luke Ridnour and signing free agent Tyronn Lue. Hammond also signed two more frontcourt reserves as free agents, Francisco Elson and Malik Allen. Also acquired as filler in trade were shooter Damon Jones and journeyman Adrian Griffin.

GOING – Three starters and one key reserve were dealt away in the Jefferson and Ridnour deals. Gone are point guard Mo Williams, forwards Bobby Simmons and Desmond Mason and 2007 lottery pick Yi Jianlian. Also lost in free agency was backup guard Royal Ivey.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Luke Ridnour (Ramon Sessions, Tyronn Lue); shooting guard: Michael Redd (Charlie Bell, Damon Jones); center: Andrew Bogut (Francisco Elson, Dan Gadzuric); power forward: Charlie Villanueva (Joe Alexander, Malik Allen).

BOTTOM LINE – With not many seeing future stardom for Yi, Hammond took advantage of New Jersey’s desire to shed salary by grabbing Jefferson. Ridnour isn’t as dynamic as Williams, but he works a lot cheaper and could be surprisingly effective under new coach Scott Skiles and playing alongside a shooter like Redd. All in all, a pretty nice start for Hammond, who showed he would be fearless in remaking the Bucks in his image.

INDIANA

COMING – Point guard has been a huge Achilles heel for the Pacers the past few seasons, at least during those frequent stretches when Jamaal Tinsley is either hurt, out of shape or ineffective. So the Pacers imported two part-time starters in T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack who should offer huge upgrades at the position. Ford should be especially effective in Jim O’Brien’s hurry-up offense. Indiana also added some needed size to its frontcourt by bringing in Georgetown’s mammoth Roy Hibbert in the draft and trading for Rasho Nesterovic. Two trade throw-ins, Maceo Baston and Josh McRoberts, will fill out the back end of the bigs rotation. A lottery pick, Brandon Rush of national champion Kansas, should offer immediate help.

GOING – The big loss was Jermaine O’Neal, sent to Toronto in the Ford trade so both he and the Pacers could get a fresh start after four nightmarish seasons filled with bad publicity. Also out are 2005 lottery pick Ike Diogu and two backcourt reserves who left as free agents, Brandon Rush’s brother Kareem Rush and former Piston Flip Murray. The Pacers are overcrowded at point guard and have made little secret of their desire to move Jamaal Tinsley if they can find a taker.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: T.J. Ford (Jarrett Jack, Travis Deiner, Jamaal Tinsley); shooting guard: Mike Dunleavy (Brandon Rush, Marquis Daniels); center: Jeff Foster (Rasho Nesterovic, Roy Hibbert); power forward: Troy Murphy (Maceo Baston, Josh McRoberts); small forward: Danny Granger (Shawne Williams, Stephen Graham).

BOTTOM LINE – The Pacers are going to have to score 110 points to have a chance to win most nights, which is another way of saying this is a defensively challenged group. The good news is that with Ford now pulling the trigger and plenty of scoring, they might get there often enough to fight for a low playoff seed.

CLEVELAND

COMING – Mo Williams comes with a big salary that might impede Cleveland’s ability to implement even more dramatic changes down the line, but news of this late-summer trade pulled off by Danny Ferry no doubt elicited a few winces from his Eastern Conference GM peers. Williams gives LeBron James the reliable No. 2 scorer he’s lacked. Most think the Cavs got a good one in young power forward J.J. Hickson in the draft and he might be needed to contribute immediately. Second-rounder Darnell Jackson was a steady hand at Kansas and could become a solid role player. Tarence Kinsey showed promise two years ago for Memphis, curiously couldn’t find a home last year but could provide some depth for Cleveland.

GOING – The trade that netted Williams cost Cleveland veterans Joe Smith and Damon Jones. Jones won’t be missed, but Smith might be. His ability to knock down 15-footers helped open some driving lanes for James.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Mo Williams (Daniel Gibson); shooting guard: Sasha Pavlovic (Delonte West, though he remains a restricted free agent and is unsigned; Tarence Kinsey); center: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Anderson Varejao); power forward: Ben Wallace (J.J. Hickson, Lance Allred); small forward: LeBron James (Wally Szczerbiak, Billy Thomas).

BOTTOM LINE – Perhaps no offense in the league was more one-dimensional than Cleveland’s for the past two years as the Cavs were almost wholly dependent on James’ ability to get to the basket and create for himself. Williams should make Cleveland’s offense less vulnerable to scoring droughts and ease some of the burden on James to carry the Cavs so relentlessly.

CHICAGO

COMING – As a reward for underperforming to a greater degree than any team in the NBA last season, the Bulls beat long odds to win the draft lottery, coming away with Memphis point guard and Chicago native Derrick Rose. It remains to be seen if Rose can immediately become an impact player. If he sputters and Michael Beasley flourishes, the heat will ratchet up even further on GM John Paxson. No one else of consequence has come on board.

GOING – The disposition of prolific scorer Ben Gordon remains in doubt, but Gordon has said he believes he’s played his last game for the Bulls. The Bulls cleared some of their glut of backcourt players when they allowed Chris Duhon to leave in free agency and waived JamesOn Curry.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Derrick Rose (Larry Hughes); shooting guard: Kirk Hinrich (Ben Gordon, Thabo Sefalosha); center: Joakim Noah (Stuart Gray); power forward: Drew Gooden (Tyrus Thomas, Cedric Simmons); small forward: Luol Deng (Andres Nocioni).

BOTTOM LINE – There was no acceptable explanation for the 16-game turnaround – 49 wins in 2006-07 to 33 last season. It’s putting a lot on Rose and first-time head coach Vinny Del Negro to expect them to get Chicago back on a playoff course. But there is still plenty of room for growth in young players like Noah and Thomas and if the Bulls can get a frontcourt scoring presence in return for Gordon, it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see Chicago back in contention.

DETROIT

COMING – It fell short of being the blockbuster many were anticipating following Dumars’ blunt proclamations in June, but the signing of Kwame Brown could pay dividends for the Pistons. While tying up very little of the team’s payroll flexibility, Brown provides a big body who, at 26, still could have his best basketball ahead of him. To protect against the possible retirement of Lindsey Hunter – or to provide insurance if Hunter requires a light workload – the Pistons brought Will Bynum over from Israel. He’s in the Hunter mold – quick and a defensive pest with some potential as a penetrator. The draft yielded a small forward who can cause matchup problems once his potential overcomes his inexperience, 6-foot-9 Walter Sharpe.

GOING – The signing of Brown almost surely meant there was no room for veteran big man Theo Ratliff, who signed with Philadelphia this week. The only other non-returnee for the Pistons is Jarvis Hayes, who had some nice moments in his only season with the team but whose defensive shortcomings cost him his spot in the rotation in the postseason.

PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Chauncey Billups (Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum); shooting guard: Rip Hamilton (Arron Afflalo); center: Rasheed Wallace (Kwame Brown, Cheikh Samb); power forward: Antonio McDyess (Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson); small forward: Tayshaun Prince (Walter Herrmann, Walter Sharpe).

BOTTOM LINE – New coach Michael Curry has said he would be perfectly fine if the roster he starts training camp with looks pretty much like the one that the Pistons took to their sixth consecutive Eastern Conference finals last May. Curry believes strongly that holding the players to a higher degree of accountability, coupled with the improvement he expects from the younger players, will give the Pistons the edge they need to get over the hump after falling short the past few seasons.