Life got tougher for the Boston Celtics on Friday afternoon, as future Hall of Famer LeBron James announced that he was joining the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.

Shams Charania of ESPN reports that the deal is a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option.

This ends weeks worth of speculation about what James would do in free agency. There were thoughts that he'd ultimately land back with the Cleveland Cavaliers, or that he could return to the Miami Heat, two places where he's won championships before, or that he would retire.

However, James comes back one last time, and will look to take the 76ers to the Promised Land.

As for the Celtics, again, things just got tougher. Boston was 56-26 last season and finishing second in the Eastern Conference, but they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the 76ers.

After the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the 76ers, there were already thoughts that Philly was significantly better than the C's, and now with James? That gap appears to have only widened. 

While injuries and age are always a concern, this is a 76ers team that now has Brown, James, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid at the forefront of its rotation, not to mention a stable group of rotational players.

While the New York Knicks are the defending champions, the 76ers look like the class of the Eastern Conference and the Celtics look like a team vying for third at best, along with the likes of the Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and the new-look Heat in the mix. The Orlando Magic could make some noise as well.

What's crazy to think about is that this deal probably doesn't happen if Brown isn't traded to Philly. In a way, the Celtics probably facilitated this deal by making the 76ers a close-to-championship contender. Now, James thinks he can send the organization over the top.

Congratulations are in order for Celtics reserve forward Jordan Walsh, who earned a three-year contract extension from the organization on Thursday.

As noted by Charania, Walsh gets a three-year extension at $15 million in total. This is on top of the Celtics picking up his $2.4 million option for next season, meaning he has at least four more guaranteed years in a Celtics uniform.

Selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft out of Arkansas, Walsh is still just 22 years old and growing. In three seasons, he's seen his role amplify each year: He played only nine games as a rookie, but elevated to 52 games as a sophomore and 68 games as a third-year player.

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