Lebron James has decided to join the L.A Lakers on a 4-year, $154 Million deal with a Player Option on his 4th year, just in time for his eldest son to be drafted into the NBA. This news was reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press in Cleveland.

LeBron signing with #Lakers. — Tom Withers (@twithersAP) July 2, 2018

LA who has been in talks with the Spurs in order to acquire Spurs Superstar – Kawhi Leonard after he reportedly wants to join LA, has now acquired Lebron James in FA. This news came to a immediate shock because of the fact that James’s agent – Rich Paul had reportedly met with the Philadelphia 76ers brass, in LA earlier today.

Regardless of how you feel about the move – Lebron has garnered the approval of the Lakers legend; Kobe Bryant stating:

This move is also gives the possibility on the fact that the Warriors will not just waltz into the Finals no more. Mainly because of the fact that All-NBA 1st Team members are now a part of the Western Conference. Add in to the fact that the Rockets who took the Warriors to 7-games, Lebron going to the West & possibly the Pelicans with Anthony Davis & Demarcus Cousins are going to be tough competition to beat.

The East however is actually more open than it ever was because Lebron. The upcoming NBA Eastern Conference will be the first one since 2005 to not have Lebron in the post-season. This means teams like the Raptors or Pacers might be gunning for a ECF appearance or the Celtics & Sixers rivalry will be a lot more intense to see who will be king of the new East.

Even Joel Embiid of the 76ers had this to say about the move & how it’ll affect the East;

Even with all of this, it seems as though Lance Stephenson has agreed to sign with the Lakers according to Shams Charnia. Lance is known for the infamous ear-blowing to Lebron James during the Miami Heat days;

Lance Stephenson has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources tell Yahoo. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2018

Couple that with the annoucement of the Golden State big man JaVale McGee who was a free agent has now decided to sign a 1-year minimum deal with the Lakers, it seems as though the whole organization is going for a win-now move.

Free agent center JaVale McGee and Los Angeles Lakers have reached an agreement on a deal, league sources tell ESPN. — Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 2, 2018

However not everything is sunny in Lakeland. If the team were to trade for Spurs Superstar Kawhi Leonard, it seems that they’d need to give up a combination of their young core & picks namely – Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart & 2 future 1st round picks just to get the deal done. This puts pressure on the Lakers organization to find a running mate for Lebron.

Add in the fact that according to Stephen A. Smith, that Kawhi Leonard threatens to sit out the whole season if San Antonio does not trade him to the Lakers, which does not bode well for the Spurs, it might be a precarious situation that the Lakers are in that might force them to dismantle their core, which personally I do not believe is a good idea at all.

With the move being announced it seems as though the narrative that the Lebron-led Lakers & Kyrie-led Celtics will reinvigorate the NBA’s most classic rivalry in a unique way. Kyrie Irving reportedly wanted out of the Cleveland Cavaliers a year prior because he felt as though it wasn’t his team anymore & that Lebron James was the focal point, going so far as stating;

“I didn’t feel the need to say anything because I knew the truth, and so did they,” Irving said. “So it didn’t matter what others said. They didn’t want me there.”

The narrative writes itself with both of them being former teammates & now rivals to the classic NBA teams, it seems as though this showdown will be a ratings pull for everyone involved, the question now though is; Who else will play with Lebron in LA & be the new Kyrie/Wade to his Lebron.

This move will change the NBA landscape for years to come & we will feel the aftereffects of this move for decades. Lebron James is now a L.A Laker & the West just got a whole lot more interesting as a whole while the East now has a power vacuum that might have a new king of the east to sit the throne.