What LeBron James' Return To The Eastern Conference Means For Detroit Pistons

LeBron James is back to take back the Eastern conference throne he sat on for more than 15 years.

A member of millions of NBA Mount Rushmores is heading to an already-stacked Philadelphia 76ers squad that features Tyrese Maxey, former Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown, and former NBA MVP Joel Embiid. The entire Eastern conference is shaken to its core on a random Friday morning in July. There's no player who can shift the status quo of an entire conference like LeBron James, and that's exactly what he's done with his decision to join the 76ers.

Analysts and basketball fans all over the world will spend hours of programming over the next few weeks dissecting how James is going to flourish playing alongside the other cast of stars, but in the state of Michigan, Pistons fans have even more questions for their front office now.

The King is back in the Eastern conference, and everyone's head is on a swivel now.

The gap between Detroit and true contenders grows

The Boston Celtics dumping Jaylen Brown off to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and some draft assets already rattled the Eastern conference in a way no one expected. LeBron James adding onto that cast of stars almost seems like overkill.

The New York Knicks are reigning league champions. The Cleveland Cavaliers were responsible for kicking Detroit out of the postseason. The Indiana Pacers will return to full strength and the Boston Celtics never really go away. Giannis Antetokounmpo is hearing all the noise about who decision to join the Miami Heat.

The Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, and Charlotte Hornets are all Eastern conference teams that showed sustainable improvement.

The Eastern conference is not the underwhelming cast of teams casual fans are used to. It's a conference of real powerhouses battling it out for the top spot.

Last season, Detroit secured 60 regular season wins during an opportunistic season that saw superstars Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo missing significant time. This season, the players and teams are returning to full strength alongside teams who were healthy this season. The competition hasn't been this stiff in over two decades.

If Detroit wants to hover around 50 to 60 wins again and if they want a chance at appearing in the NBA Finals, this roster cannot stay the same. The urgency to stay competitive should've already been high heading into the offseason, but now, it needs to be as high as it's ever been.

Let the dominos start falling

Now that LeBron James has finally made his free agency decision, other NBA teams who were reportedly sitting and waiting for James to make his move can start making their moves. At the time of James' decision to play in Philadelphia, Detroit's front office has done a good job of patching holes in their game. The Pistons have traded up in the NBA Draft to select Ebuka Okorie out of Stanford, sign big man John Collins to a great contract, traded for sharpshooter Isaiah Joe, and re-signed guard Kevin Huerter.

Jalen Duren's contract negotiations and his unwillingness to accept anything other than the maximum he's eligible for have been a thorn on Detroit's side all summer. Expect the talks on that end to progress now that James has signed, whether that means he'll be traded or signed back to Detroit. Also, if Pistons President Trajan Langdon is going to trade for a legit co-star alongside Cade Cunningham, it should happen within the next two weeks. Jalen Duren's contract negotiations can't affect Detroit's readiness for the beginning of the season and the Pistons front office shouldn't settle.

If Kyrie Irving or Zach LaVine is available, there's no reason the Pistons shouldn't be doing everything they can to acquire either star. There's no need to keep taking patient approaches to the way this roster is built. The core of Cunningham, Duren, and youth peaked at 60 regular season wins and a game seven loss to the Cavaliers in the second round of the postseason.

Whether Duren is on the roster or not, the Pistons cannot afford to stay patient for the rest of the summer.

The Pistons have the ammunition to make a move and the opportunities for Detroit get dimmer with every week that we get closer to the start of the season.

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