Analyzing the Hawks' Stronger Competition In The East After Final Free Agency Domino Falls

LeBron James has finally chosen a new team.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, James is going to be signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option for year two. It has been quite the offseason for the 76ers, as they traded away Paul George and draft picks to acquire Jaylen Brown and now they have one of the best starting lineups in the NBA.

The Eastern Conference has been shaped by big move trades this offseason. Toronto has a pending deal for Kawhi Leonard, Philly acquired James and Brown, and the Miami Heat were able to land Giannis.

The Atlanta Hawks have chosen a different path, and I think it was the right one for them to take. The Hawks went 20-6 after the All-Star Break and defeated the Knicks twice in their first-round playoff series and they were carried by their strong starting lineup of CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu.

What the Hawks needed to fortify this offseason was their depth and they did that by adding Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, Henri Veesaar, Devin Carter, and re-signing Jock Landale. Does this guarantee the Hawks any success? No, but they are betting on their starters remaining effective and the depth they added helping them to stay in the playoff race.

But that is not going to be easy with how the landscape has changed.

Tough Eastern Conference

If the Hawks want to stay in the top six of the Eastern Conference, they will have a lot of competition.

I think there are 12 teams that could say they have playoff aspirations in the Eastern Conference next season.

Detroit has had a quiet offseason aside from signing John Collins and trading for Isaiah Joe, but they have a young, talented roster and Jalen Duren will likely be back at this point.

The Knicks are the reigning champions and have arguably the best starting five in the NBA. They will be the favorites in the Eastern Conference next season.

Boston got a little worse with the Jaylen Brown-Paul George swap, but adding Mitchell Robinson to their center rotation is going to be huge. The Celtics should still be a regular season wins machine, though losing Brown hurts their ceiling a little.

Cleveland missed out on adding James, but they still have Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and James Harden (assuming he re-signs). They made the Eastern Conference Finals this past season, but have lost depth in addition to not getting James.

Toronto is in limbo right now with the proposed Kawhi Leonard trade, but when/if that goes through, the Raptors should be contenders and one of the best defensive teams in the league.

Philly has questions around their depth and Embiid's health, but a starting lineup of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Brown, James, and Embiid is a very strong one.

Miami also missed out on James and while their roster is not perfect, they have one of the five best players in the game now and should have a great defense.

Let's not forget about the Pacers either. They are getting Tyrese Haliburton back and a healhty Ivica Zubac. They were one win away from the NBA Finals last summer and should be back to form as well.

Charlotte, Orlando, and Washington all have talent and won't be easy to beat.

This is not to say that Atlanta can't make the playoffs. They should have a strong identity around defense and have an emerging All-NBA talent in Jalen Johnson. It is just going to be much harder and for the first time in a long time, it is not crazy to say the Eastern Conference might be more competitive, tougher, and deeper than the Western Conference.

Add us as a preferred source on Google