{"id":2029552,"date":"2026-07-06T14:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2029552"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:40:11","slug":"the-nbas-balance-of-power-has-not-really-shifted-but-could-lebron-james-change-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2029552","title":{"rendered":"The NBA\u2019s balance of power has (not really) shifted, but could LeBron James change it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p>Yes, things have changed as a result of NBA free agency, the draft and the series of trades that always accompany those two events.<\/p>\n<p>But has anything<em> really<\/em> changed?<\/p>\n<p>To wit, has anything happened that might shift the balance of power in the league?<\/p>\n<p>Thus far, the shifts have been more subtle than seismic. I say that with one giant, LeBron-sized asterisk, because his free agency is the one true, June-level needle-mover left on the board.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"IoCmxvlZ6XzF9i2\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Top 5 LeBron Lakers Moments<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/IoCmxvlZ6XzF9i2\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/IoCmxvlZ6XzF9i2\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Top 5 LeBron Lakers Moments&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;From winning a title to becoming the NBA&#8217;s all-time leading scorer, these are the five moments that defined LeBron James&#8217; Lakers career.&#8221;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-07-02T01:11:06.420Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT1M3S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/IoCmxvlZ6XzF9i2\/8wqFD4M58UuE.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/IoCmxvlZ6XzF9i2\/8wqFD4M58UuE\/8wqFD4M58UuE.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;Together in an NBA game. quarter James goes to the rim once again, lays it up. James drives. James finishes 16 and 5. They beat Portland, Houston, and Denver all in 5 games, and that&#8217;s it. It&#8217;s over. This historic 2020 NBA championship belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic Staff&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"metadata\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Still, the striking thing about the state of play, as things stand, is how little even the dramatic moves of this offseason stand to change things once we get to the highest levels of playoff basketball. The Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat added Jaylen Brown and Giannis Antetokounmpo, respectively, yet still seem nowhere near good enough to make a conference finals, with each having glaring deficiencies in depth and shooting.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We\u2019ll get to the LeBron James part of the equation. But assuming the other three major free agents left re-sign with their own teams, we can already see the outlines of what next season\u2019s contender class looks like. Broadly speaking, it feels a lot like last year, with perhaps one notable exception. Geographically, it has tilted slightly East with Kawhi Leonard\u2019s move to the Toronto Raptors, but unless James bookends Leonard\u2019s L.A.-to-lakes journey by joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, the West still looks tougher.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a quick look at the state of the league right now.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tier 1: The two juggernauts \u2014 San Antonio, Oklahoma City<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Vegas oddsmakers have the Spurs and Thunder as by far the two favorites to win the title next season. That might seem disrespectful to the champs, and we\u2019ll get to them in a minute, but there\u2019s a reason these two teams get so much love: They are really young, and they were tremendous last season, winning more than 60 games with dominant underlying stats. Only one can advance to the NBA Finals, but they\u2019re good bets to have the two best regular-season records again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Oklahoma City<\/strong> won more games than any other team each of the past two seasons, won the title in \u201925 and lost the \u201926 conference finals in seven games because of two key injuries. The Thunder still have the league\u2019s deepest roster, its most dominant defense and a two-time MVP. Their entire offseason so far consists of shedding players they didn\u2019t need a year ago, even though they were perfectly cromulent rotation players.<\/p>\n<p>However, the important move was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7400032\/2026\/06\/26\/isaiah-hartenstein-contract-thunder-extension-nba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reworking Isaiah Hartenstein\u2019s contract<\/a> so the team can likely avoid the second apron and maintain flexibility for in-season needs. Even after winning 64 and 68 games the past two seasons with historic scoring margins, what\u2019s wild is that the team is young enough that it\u2019s likely to be even better next season.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>San Antonio,<\/strong> of course, was outclassed by the New York Knicks in the finals but has even more of an age-related wind at its back than OKC with key players Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle all being in their early 20s. It\u2019s not absurd to think that Wembanyama could win MVP and Harper could win Most Improved Player in the same season. The Spurs also addressed a key weakness with the addition of Tobias Harris, giving them a fourth-quarter-caliber power forward who was glaringly missing from the rotation when they were challenged against the Thunder and Knicks.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7425408\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7425408 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/07\/06092841\/260706-Jalen-Brunson-Karl-Anthony-Towns-scaled-e1783344632902.jpg\" alt=\"Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1280\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">It was a magical season for Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks. (Geoff Burke \/ Imagn Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Tier 1A: The champs \u2014 New York<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>New York<\/strong> lost Mitchell Robinson, but I don\u2019t see that as a serious problem. Yes, he helped at the margins, but he played only 13 minutes a game in the finals and even ceded minutes to Ariel Hukporti and Jeremy Sochan while the Knicks were coming back from 29 down in Game 4.<\/p>\n<p>What I see as possibly more problematic is New York\u2019s attempt to catch lightning in a bottle a second time next spring, or at least preserve the bolt from 2026. The Knicks were a good-but-not-great regular-season team whose not-particularly-young cast members are all a year older.<\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p>Re-climbing that mountain will be hard, and they won\u2019t necessarily get the same breaks. Still, these would be your on-paper favorites in the East in any playoff tournament, even if they might not enter it as the top seed.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"JkEca14dDq42vBR\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Why did the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown?<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Jay King and Jeshua Kidd<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/JkEca14dDq42vBR\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/JkEca14dDq42vBR\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Why did the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown?&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;The Boston Celtics have traded Jaylen Brown to the 76ers&#8230; why?&#8221;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-07-02T19:07:25.013Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT33S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/JkEca14dDq42vBR\/lFDwmf7H91yT.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/JkEca14dDq42vBR\/lFDwmf7H91yT\/lFDwmf7H91yT.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;Jalen Brown has been traded from the Boston Celtics. And for that, after the Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, a lot of people around the NBA were asking why the Celtics were willing to do so for such a weak return. After a first-round exit. The Celtics decided to make a radical change. We&#8217;ll see if it&#8217;s the right move. It&#8217;s a risky one. It is the end of a successful era. Time will tell whether they got the best of the deal, whether they traded him at the right time. However, this is a big risk for the Celtics. They knew what Brown and Tatum could do.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Jay King and Jeshua Kidd&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"metadata\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Tier II: The East insurgents \u2014 Boston, Detroit, Toronto<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Elite teams in the East seemingly have better odds of making the finals than similarly talented ones in the West, based on the sheer fact of not having to go through both the Spurs and Thunder.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Boston <\/strong>would have been in Tier 1A with New York before the Brown trade. The Celtics have won more games than the Knicks three straight years, won the title in \u201924 and had an injured Jayson Tatum at the end of the last three series they\u2019ve lost. On the other hand, the Knicks had them on the ropes even before Tatum\u2019s injury in \u201925 and didn\u2019t seem all that scared about potentially facing them in \u201926 before the Sixers took care of that issue.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid3\" data-position=\"mid3\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But the biggest reason to knock Boston down a peg is the Brown-for-Paul George swap. Yes, this may, possibly, ultimately pay dividends in a three-dimensional-chess type of way based on subsequent deals the Celtics might make (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7417990\/2026\/07\/03\/nba-free-agency-winners-and-losers-2026\/\">more on that here<\/a>). But in the short term, George\u2019s contract is unmovable, and the Celtics are locked into the same Joe Mazzulla-ball style that has fared much better in the regular season than in the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Detroit <\/strong>won 60 games last season, but nobody talks about the Pistons when they talk about contenders. While the Pistons showed their warts in the 2026 playoffs, they also did a good job the past two weeks of repositioning the roster for the coming seasons. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7397918\/2026\/06\/26\/isaiah-joe-trade-pistons-thunder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The nearly-free addition of Isaiah Joe<\/a> should be a big boost to their limited floor spacing from a year ago, while John Collins won\u2019t score like Harris but gives them more athletic zip. Obviously, as longtime readers know, the liberation of Paul Reed as a result of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7392250\/2026\/06\/24\/isaiah-stewart-trade-pistons-grizzlies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaiah Stewart\u2019s departure<\/a> will move the Pistons up several notches in the Hollinger rankings.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p>More seriously, the other reason to like the Pistons is that their powder remains dry. They are one of the few teams in this piece positioned to make major in-season upgrades based on their cap situation and draft capital. Detroit has all its future picks and is plus-six on future seconds, has a clean cap beyond this season and has multiple expiring or non-guaranteed contracts to use as a salary match. You never know which unhappy star will start searching for the exits at the trade deadline; you just know that every year it happens. The Pistons are primed to pounce.<\/p>\n<p>One final note: I haven\u2019t seen Detroit mentioned anywhere as a LeBron destination, but he\u2019d really fit. Maybe it\u2019s just a bridge too far for an Ohio guy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Toronto <\/strong>must be taken seriously among the East\u2019s elite. The Raptors were pretty good last year and just added a guy in Leonard who can win a playoff series by himself. They have a second star in Scottie Barnes, young players still capable of taking a step forward (Collin Murray-Boyles, Jamal Shead, Ja\u2019Kobe Walter), R.J. Barrett\u2019s expiring money and a tradable first to spice up their in-season moves.<\/p>\n<p>Leonard\u2019s iffy availability record and the team\u2019s lack of shooting keep it out of the upper crust, but this is a strong team and one that may level up in the playoffs.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tier III: If LeBron arrives \u2014 Cleveland, Denver, Minnesota<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I see three teams that would jump into New York\u2019s tier if one particular free agent decides to join their team on a low-dollar contract. Since all three appeared on Rich Paul\u2019s whiteboard, let\u2019s discuss.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid4\" data-position=\"mid4\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Cleveland<\/strong> has the most talent, but has the most work to do to make the potential addition of James fit. You wonder if adding James would lead the Cavs to trade Jarrett Allen for a 3-and-D small forward, since James isn\u2019t that guy anymore. The one glaring weakness on the Cavs\u2019 roster is a shutdown wing with some size and, at this point, that\u2019s much more valuable to them than another big or another on-ball player.<\/p>\n<p>The Cavs also still have a tradable 2031 first-round pick and expiring or expiring-ish money with Max Strus and Dennis Schr\u00f6der. They have to worry about the second apron, but if LeBron says he\u2019s coming on a minimum deal, then it\u2019s damn-the-torpedoes time: use the picks, blow past the aprons and worry about the mess later. His arrival would make 2026-27, by far, this group\u2019s best shot at a title.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Denver <\/strong>could really use a player like James, even if the Nuggets also have other needs on the wing and in the backcourt. Pairing his genius with that of Nikola Joki\u0107 would be so mesmerizing that it would offset the six-minute stretch each half of watching Julian Strawther-Zeke Nnaji units bleed 10-0 runs.<\/p>\n<p>The Nuggets face an uphill climb staying level with the elite in the West despite having an MVP-caliber centerpiece in Joki\u0107. While adding James would greatly elevate the overall talent level, I\u2019m not sure he fixes the desperate need for more shooting and defense. If they could add him while keeping Peyton Watson and not shedding other players, I might feel more bullish.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Minnesota <\/strong>is the one team where James could make the most difference. Going from not having a real four to suddenly adding the best four on the market? Yeah, that would make a dent. James\u2019s ballhandling and distribution would add some redundancy to offset LaMelo Ball\u2019s injury-proneness, and his mere presence would make opponents think twice about doubling Anthony Edwards at half court as the Spurs did in the 2026 playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Also, everything else on the roster would basically snap together \u2014 Jaden McDaniels could still play small forward and guard the opponents\u2019 best player, Ayo Dosunmu would slide back into a more natural sixth-man role and the wing depth wouldn\u2019t seem so shaky as a result.<\/p>\n<p>LeBron would be a legend if he went to Minnesota and won, although the odds in the West are still stacked against him. Against all odds, this is the outcome I\u2019m rooting for.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7425417\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-image-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7425417 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/07\/06093400\/260706-Luka-Doncic-scaled-e1783344862318.jpg\" alt width=\"2560\" height=\"1280\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-credits\">\n<div class=\"inline-credits-container\">\n      <span class=\"credits-text\">Luka Don\u010di\u0107 (right) won\u2019t have LeBron James or Marcus Smart as teammates next season. (Troy Taormina\/ Imagn Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Tier IV: The puncher\u2019s chances \u2014 Indiana, Houston, L.A. Lakers, Miami, Philadelphia<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Five other teams have at least an argument to be in the mix, and most of them aren\u2019t done cooking yet. In particular, I\u2019m intrigued to see what <strong>Indiana<\/strong> can do with Tyrese Haliburton returned from his Achilles injury and Ivica Zubac in the middle. I like the addition of Kelly Oubre, too. But I can\u2019t automatically promote Indy back to elite status until we see how Hali looks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid5\" data-position=\"mid5\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Philadelphia<\/strong> still seems woefully thin and can\u2019t count on Joel Embiid, but a Tyrese Maxey-VJ Edgecombe-Brown perimeter trio could be overwhelming.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Lakers<\/strong> are losing James but have added Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili and may have other additions coming. Luka Don\u010di\u0107 could also push his way into the MVP race this year.<\/p>\n<p>Ditto for <strong>Houston<\/strong>. While the 2026 playoffs were a crushing disappointment, the Rockets return Fred VanVleet from injury and have a lot of juice in the trade market with the future Suns picks they own and the 2027 swap with Brooklyn. Plus, their books are in solid shape.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, <strong>Miami<\/strong>. Yes, the Heat added Giannis. Yes, adding both Giannis and LeBron in one offseason would be quite a coup. Would they even be good enough after those two additions? I have my doubts. The Heat have pulled rabbits out of hats before, and the offseason isn\u2019t over yet, but on paper this might be the worst backcourt in the league. I can\u2019t get there.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"CrNqh2moX2PCa2g\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Have Lakers built Luka a contending roster?<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Dan Woike and Jeshua Kidd<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/CrNqh2moX2PCa2g\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/CrNqh2moX2PCa2g\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Have Lakers built Luka a contending roster?&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;The Lakers have made a cluster of moves in free agency. Have they improved around Luka Doncic?&#8221;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-07-02T21:25:46.848Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT49S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/CrNqh2moX2PCa2g\/3h9k8dMpufNR.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/CrNqh2moX2PCa2g\/3h9k8dMpufNR\/3h9k8dMpufNR.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;The team I cover has changed and changed dramatically. This is a team that has now lost LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kinnard, and it&#8217;s a group that has now gained the A-list center that Luka Dacic has wanted, a point of attack defender in Quentin Grimes. It&#8217;s gained Sandro Mamakelashvili, a player it really, really likes. We Find out whether or not that plan is good. They have left themselves with very little flexibility, if any at all, but they&#8217;ve gone all in, and they&#8217;ve gone all in on a vision that they can make Luk Acic a championship level player by optimizing him. Whether they&#8217;ve done a good enough job at covering up his weaknesses, I, I think remains to be seen. But, but they have to be the best version of a Lukadic team. They&#8217;re not going to be the Spurs. They&#8217;re not going to be the Knicks. They have to be the Lukadic Lakers. They took a big step forward in that direction.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Dan Woike and Jeshua Kidd&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"metadata\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, things have changed as a result of NBA free agency, the draft and the series of trades that always accompany those two events. But has anything really changed? To wit, has anything happened that might shift the balance of power in the league? Thus far, the shifts have been more subtle than seismic. I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2029552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2029552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029552\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2029552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2029552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2029552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}