BOSTON — LeBron James sees what the Philadelphia 76ers did at the trade deadline, and the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Toronto Raptors, and he loves it.



They all reminded him of, well, him.



“Those top teams in the East, yeah, they’re going for it,” James told The Athletic. “Toronto is going for it, Milwaukee’s going for it, Philly. Boston believes they can do it, too. They know they ain’t gotta go through Cleveland anymore.



“Everybody in the East thinks they can get to the Finals because they ain’t gotta go through me.”



The NBA’s trade deadline was explosive, all right, but not because of anything James’ current team, the Lakers, did to try and find that second All-Star to play with him. The New Orleans Pelicans held onto Anthony Davis instead of deal him to Los Angeles, raising questions of whether the Lakers will ever get Davis or another star, and that led to speculation that the...