Why LeBron James Joining Philadelphia 76ers Affects Orlando Magic

LeBron James has finally chosen his next destination, and he shocked much of the basketball world on Friday when it was announced that he will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers.

It has been nearly a decade since James last played in the Eastern Conference, and now he is making his return. Last time he was in the East, James was dominating opponents en route to eight-straight NBA Finals appearances.

Now, he is older and no longer the force that he once was, but he is still an All-Star caliber talent that has skyrocketed Philadelphia’s chances to win it all, especially as he is being added to a roster with Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe.

James’ return to the Eastern Conference just made things harder on all the teams involved, and that includes the Orlando Magic, who are trying to take the next step and break out of the purgatory of the first round that they have been limited to for three-straight seasons.

Following James’ announcement, I went on the Full Court Magic Podcast to discuss the implications of this move for the Magic. Below are some of my thoughts:

"I think it's fair to say that, you know, this idea that, 'Oh, we just got to get healthy, we just got to get healthy.’ I feel like that level of… I can't even call it paralysis. I've used the word paralysis before by this front office and Jeff Weltman. I can't even call it that anymore. Like, we're bordering on complacency. And say the Magic are healthy, right? What if, you know, they're a sixth seed? What if they fall into the Play-In Tournament again, right? What if they get bounced in the first round again? 

And I know that this team is growing, and I know that, you know, it is still very young, and those experiences these last three years in the postseason were important. Obviously, a regime change with Sean Sweeney now taking the reins as head coach, but Sweeney himself is young. Sweeney himself has never been in this position before. So you got a bunch of young guys in their respective roles trying to figure it out. And I just don't know if, actually, I could say with certainty that the Eastern Conference is not going to be forgiving to a young team like the Magic. 

And so, you know, fans are going to have to hope for two things. They're going to have to hope that, one, the health that, you know, Jeff Weltman keeps pounding the table over ends up coming to fruition, and you get a really solid, healthy season out of, you know, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Desmond Bane.

But again, history has shown us that has not been the case. And two, you have to hope that because of their experiences in the postseason and what they've gone through, that they're better for it, and that they will show legitimate growth as players, as leaders, because the intangibles are just as important as the tangibles. You know, but so much pressure is put on those four guys."

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