NBA Daily: Who Takes Control Of The East?

Opportunity is knocking.

It may sound cliché, but no words are truer when it comes to what lies ahead for the entirety of the Eastern Conference.

In case you missed the biggest news of free agency yet, Klutch Sports announced that LeBron James agreed to a four-year, $154 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Lakers on the evening of July 1.

For the first time in his career, James will be a part of the superstar-studded Western Conference. The decision only adds to an incredible shift in the NBA landscape as its teams continue to stack up with talent that is sure to lean the balance of power in the league further toward the Western Conference.

But what about the conference that LeBron left behind? The same conference that he’s dominated for the last eight years and the majority of his career is finally going to have many new faces at its apex. The question is—who will it be?

First and foremost, you have to think the Boston Celtics are one of the early favorites. This is a team with a ton of heart, talent and self-belief that was one game away from reaching the NBA Finals under the leadership of Brad Stevens and veteran Al Horford.

Young players like Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum proved how successful they could be with their team’s back against the wall. Having to assume responsibility for injuries to two All-Star players such as Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward was not an easy task, but they passed with flying colors. Now imagine what you saw this postseason, plus those two key guys that they were without—that’s your 2018-19 Celtics group and yes, it is a real contender to win a championship as soon as next season.

The Philadelphia 76ers are looking mighty scary. They were bounced in the second round of the playoffs by Boston, but that was their first postseason series in six years since “The Process” began.

Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are quite possibly the nastiest one-two punch in the NBA and they’ve played just one season together. It’s not normal for players who are that young with such little professional experience to have the success they did, and that should a lot of franchises that currently stand in their way. Add in Robert Covington’s long-term deal and J.J. Redick’s recent reported return for another year—this core is together again and set to wreak havoc.

We can’t forget about the Indiana Pacers at all, either. After all, they were the first ones to take James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the opening round in the playoffs behind a driven and determined Victor Oladipo. His first All-Star season with the franchise didn’t stop at just the regular season and it instilled belief into every one of his teammates in those yellow and blue—sometimes-red—threads.

The Pacers’ chemistry with one another will only improve. Oladipo deservedly gets the main praise, but guys like Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis and Bojan Bogdanovic are going to keep getting more and more comfortable with each other. Heck, even Thaddeus Young decided to come back and finish the business that he feels was left unfinished. The culture that Nate McMillan has established with this group is going to translate to the floor at an elite level.

And last, but certainly not least, we have the Milwaukee Bucks. For the past several years, we’ve pondered over whether or not this team will make the next step. There have been teases and blockbuster moves in the midst of it all, but this time, it has to happen.

A change in direction started early in the offseason with the hiring of Mike Budenholzer, a man who is widely respected for the quick turnaround he was a part of in Atlanta. He’s got a chance to create something special in Milwaukee now with Giannis Antetokounmpo as the leader of the franchise.

It’s the most talented superstar that he’s ever had the chance to work with as a head coach. For the most part, the Bucks have the same roster. Khris Middleton is the perfect All-Star caliber three-and-D fit for Bud’s system and Eric Bledsoe has the aggressive mentality on both ends of the floor to really make this a great match for everyone involved.

The Toronto Raptors are under a new head coach with the same roster right now, while their former leader Dwane Casey embarks on a new journey with the Detroit Pistons. Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat are always a shoe-in to frustrate everybody they play with their physical style of play. There is a window here now.

Maybe there isn’t one player or one team that’s going to “run” things for years to come. Maybe there will be several franchises to step up to the challenge as the conference gets used to life without LeBron.

All we know is the gatekeeper has finally left his post.

The Eastern Conference is up for grabs. Now it’s somebody else’s turn to take it.