Eastern Conference Tiers: Contenders, Playoff and Lottery Teams After LeBron James Joins 76ers

The biggest domino left of the NBA’s offseason fell on Friday when LeBron James decided to join the Philadelphia 76ers. He joins a loaded roster that recently added Jaylen Brown as Philly immediately becomes a true championship threat.

Through a busy offseason, the 76ers aren’t the only Eastern Conference team to massively improve on paper compared to last season’s roster. The Heat traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo, while the Raptors are slated to bring back Kawhi Leonard pending a lingering league investigation.

Beyond the big trades, the East is stacked with worthy candidates that have a realistic shot to represent the conference in next season’s NBA Finals. The Knicks are coming off a championship year where they dominated the competition throughout the playoffs. Boston no longer has Brown, but it will have a full season with Jayson Tatum and Brad Stevens addressed the frontcourt by inking Neemias Queta to an extension and bringing in former Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson. The Pacers will get Tyrese Haliburton back after a dreadful season without the star guard, plus the Cavaliers, Pistons, Hawks and Magic remain in the mix.

That’s 10 teams competing for eight playoff spots before you even include the improved Wizards and the frisky Hornets. Next year’s Eastern Conference playoffs will be absolutely grueling. With LeBron on the way to Philly for his 24th season, here’s how we’d currently group each team in the crowded East:

Contenders: Knicks, 76ers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Pistons

Jaylen Brown and LeBron Jame — LeBron James will join Jaylen Brown on the 76ers after the Celtics traded Brown to Philly earlier this offseason | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The defending champion Knicks and the reloaded 76ers are at the top and could even be in a tier of their own. With James on the roster, the Sixers have four 20-point scorers in him, Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The franchise brought in Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Ariel Hukporti in free agency—all solid additions to round out the roster. Health is the biggest concern, mainly with Embiid and a 41-year-old LeBron. Philly’s roster is deep enough to compete even if it isn’t fully healthy, though. The only issue is there’s only so many shots to go around for the group of ball-dominant players.

Mannix: LeBron James Chose the 76ers for One Simple Reason

New York’s championship core remains intact and the franchise signed Andre Drummond to back up Karl-Anthony Towns after the Knicks lost Robinson and Hukporti. The Knicks remain a title frontrunner with the core of Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and Towns without a doubt. Boston lost Brown, but the Celtics won 56 games and earned the No. 2 seed in the East without Tatum for a majority of the season. Yes, a lot of that was because of Brown’s career year, but Tatum remains the C’s top option and he gets an improved frontcourt, plus the acquisition of Paul George who’s still an impactful forward.

Neither the Cavs nor the Pistons have made a splash over the offseason, but both teams had great years last season and should remain contenders even in an improved conference. Cleveland missed out on a reunion with James and lost Wade, but the team is coming off a run to the Eastern Conference finals behind Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and James Harden. Harden opted out of his player option and remains a free agent, but it’s presumed he will return to Cleveland for his first full season with the Cavs.

Detroit lost Tobias Harris and is still in a difficult situation with All-Star center Jalen Duren, who’s a restricted free agent. Duren should be back whether it’s on a new contract or on the qualifying offer and the franchise signed John Collins to step into the starting lineup in place of Harris. The Pistons won 60 games last season and Cade Cunningham gets better each year. Although it was a disappointing postseason, the young team has more playoff experience to help them take the next step eventually.

Playoff teams: Heat, Raptors, Pacers

Giannis Antetokounmpo is introduced by the Hea — The Bucks traded Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat ahead of the NBA draft | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

You can make a case for any of the Heat, Raptors or Pacers as a contender. The Heat added one of the league’s most dominant players in Antetokounmpo to pair him with Bam Adebayo. Bobby Portis came with Giannis and Miami added Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency, but the franchise lost Norman Powell and gave up a haul of players and picks to acquire Giannis. Despite the added star power, the roster may not be deep enough to truly compete this year.

Toronto took the Cavs to seven games in the first round and improved around its franchise player Scottie Barnes. Brandon Ingram didn’t perform in the playoffs after he was the Raptors’ leading scorer last season. Leonard certainly addresses the need for scoring (as long as the trade goes through) on a top-tier defensive team. With Haliburton back after he missed last season, the Pacers hope to make a run back to the NBA Finals after a down year. Indiana got its star guard a premier center in Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline last year. The franchise paid a big price for Zubac, but with him, Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and a deep roster around the margins, the Pacers should return to Eastern Conference relevance.

Play-in candidates: Hawks, Magic, Hornets, Wizards

The Wizards made AJ Dybantsa the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I held myself to a strict eight-team limit between the contenders and playoff team categories and it pained me to leave the Hawks and the Magic out. Atlanta had the most wins against the Knicks of any team during the postseason and is only getting better behind All-Star wing Jalen Johnson. CJ McCollum had some heroics in Atlanta’s two wins over New York in the first round and the veteran guard is back to add his scoring juice. The franchise traded for Luguentz Dort, too, adding another defensive menace alongside Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Plus, the latter took a huge step forward as a scorer last year.

Orlando blew a 3–1 lead on the top-seeded Pistons in the first round of the playoffs as injuries hampered the majority of the Magic’s season. As long as the team remains healthy, it should be in the playoff picture behind new coach Sean Sweeney. The Hornets and the Wizards are two frisky teams who could be a pain to draw whether in a play-in game or playoff series. Charlotte parted with LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, but the arrivals of Naz Reid, Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale fills out the roster nicely alongside the core of Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel. The Hornets were one of the NBA’s best teams after the All-Star break last year and they should give opponents problems even without Ball.

Trae Young inked a massive extension to remain with the Wizards after he came to Washington last season. Anthony Davis has yet to make his Wizards debut, but unless he’s traded, the pairing of Young and Davis with No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa and evolving big man Alex Sarr is incredibly fun.

Lottery teams: Bucks, Nets, Bulls

Brayden Burries and Nate Ament were lottery picks by the Bucks to start Milwaukee’s rebuild | Sydney Bezelik/NBAE via Getty Images

Milwaukee enters a new era without Antetokounmpo. Next season is about developing its new young core of lottery picks Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, plus Kasparas Jakučionis and Kel’el Ware, both of whom arrived from Miami through the trade. Ryan Rollins had a breakout year last season with the Bucks, plus Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are two more impactful players that came over from the Heat. Milwaukee may be better than expected, but there’s no question that the franchise is looking out toward the future.

Caleb Wilson, the fourth pick in the draft, was one of the most impressive players at Summer League and Bulls fans should be extremely excited about his future. Add Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey, Chicago has a nice young core. Plus, there’s still the unknown of Noa Essengue, last year’s No. 12 pick. Although Chicago is on the rise with a new coach and front office, the franchise needs more time to escape from the bottom. Brooklyn is in a similar situation as the Nets’ main priority is developing Egor Dёmin and Mikel Brown Jr. in a big group of young guards. The Nets took Brown over Darius Acuff Jr. and a slew of other guards with the sixth pick in the draft, which makes the Louisville product’s development key for the rebuilding franchise.

The addition of Julius Randle brings a veteran who can knock down shots which is sorely needed on such a young team. Michael Porter Jr. had an All-Star-type season last year and as long as he remains with the team, he’ll put up numbers. However, the bottom group of teams just don’t have talented enough rosters to legitimately compete within such a loaded conference.

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