Nets fans, don't worry. We weren't winning the East before this happened, and we aren't winning it after. The only thing Brooklyn is contending for right now is lottery ball combinations.
LeBron James has officially announced he'll finish his legendary career with the Philadelphia 76ers, signing a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option after seriously considering retirement. The 41-year-old called it his "last decision," making this the final chapter of one of the greatest careers in sports history
Forget the money. LeBron has made over a billion dollars. This move is about one thing: chasing ring number five.
Philadelphia suddenly went from "pretty good if Embiid stays healthy" to "everybody in the East just started sweating."
The Sixers didn't stop with LeBron either. Earlier this offseason they pulled off one of the biggest trades in recent memory, acquiring Jaylen Brown from the Celtics. If Boston fans weren't already miserable watching Brown leave, now they get to watch him throw alley-oops to LeBron in Philadelphia. That's just cruel.
Projected Starting Five
PG — Tyrese Maxey
SG — VJ Edgecombe
SF — LeBron James
PF — Jaylen Brown
C — Joel Embiid
Read that lineup again.
That's an MVP. A Finals MVP. The greatest player of his generation. One of the league's fastest guards. And one of the most exciting young rookies in basketball.
If healthy, that's a nightmare.
The biggest question has never been talent—it's health. Joel Embiid has to stay on the floor. LeBron, somehow entering his 24th NBA season, still looks like he's drinking from the Fountain of Youth instead of Gatorade. At 41, he's still producing numbers most All-Stars would happily take.
As a Nets fan, all I can do is laugh.
We spent years trying to build superteams, watched them explode spectacularly, and now Philadelphia says, "Hold my cheesesteak."
The Eastern Conference just became a whole lot more interesting.
Unless you're a Nets fan.
Then it's probably time to start watching college prospects.