LeBron James free agency winners and losers: Sixers on the rise; Heat, Cavs, Steph Curry miss out

LeBron James has finally made his decision. After input from most of the teams around the league, voice notes from executives, and a push from commissioner Adam Silver to keep things moving, the Sixers have shockingly won the LeBron sweepstakes. 

LeBron is still a very good player at age 41, with the potential to shift the NBA landscape. He legitimately could have been the missing championship piece for several teams around the league, particularly given that he suggested he was willing to sign for much less than he was worth. 

That means that some teams ended the LeBron free agency period heartbroken, while others made out pretty well. Here are the biggest winners and losers from his latest Decision.

MORE: Sixers' projected lineup with LeBron | Contract details

LeBron James free agency winners

Sixers

What a coup for the Sixers, who added Jaylen Brown and LeBron over the offseason. They boast an extremely talented starting five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Brown, LeBron, and Joel Embiid. 

LeBron at just $8 million over two years is a ridiculous value. He's not worth the $52 million that he made last season in Los Angeles, but a fair market contract for him for the upcoming season would have paid him at about $21 million according to my salary model. 

LeBron drastically changes the Sixers, who were counting on free agent addition Dean Wade to fill out their starting five. LeBron is obviously a huge upgrade there, and Wade now gives Philadelphia some much-needed bench depth. They're still a few pieces away from competing for a championship, and Embiid's health is always the big question. But they have some serious top-end talent if everything goes right. 

Philadelphia still needs to solve that Embiid problem if they want to be taken seriously. Behind Embiid is Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti, and Johni Broome. None of those guys are inspiring much fear. If LeBron can play more backup five, that solves part of their issue. 

The Sixers are also going to have to figure out how to get these pieces working together. There were already questions about how they would incorporate the ball-dominant style of Brown after trading for him. That problem grows even more complex with LeBron. To his credit, he was very willing to take on a smaller role in the offense in a similar situation with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves last season. 

Despite the usage issues, this will work out. LeBron has made teammates better throughout his career. He should do the same with his playmaking ability and selfless play in Philadelphia. He remains a terrific transition player, and he now gets paired with two great transition guards with Maxey and Edgecombe. His leadership cannot be understated as well in getting everyone on the same page. 

The Sixers have time to address the rest of their issues down the road. Acquiring top-end talent is the hardest part of roster construction, and Philadelphia now has a lot of it. They have work to do, but this has the outline of a team that could make it to the Finals. 

Lakers

LeBron and the Lakers were headed towards an awkward ending. LeBron saved them the trouble of what could have been a messy contract negotiation by announcing that he was leaving a month ago. 

LeBron is still a top 30 player, but the Lakers needed more depth and shooting rather than the creation abilities that he was providing. By letting him go, they were able to completely rebuild the team around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, adding more complementary shooting and defense. 

Los Angeles may take an immediate step back, and they've downgraded from a pure talent level. I didn't love the way they used that flexibility either, vastly overpaying in the Walker Kessler trade. But moving LeBron did open up avenues towards a higher ceiling. 

Bronny James

Bronny showed some signs of being a real NBA player in his second season, hitting a respectable 39 percent from 3 and playing good defense. He was always going to be overshadowed by his father though. Now, he gets a chance to sink or swim based on his own merits. 

LeBron James free agency losers

Steph Curry

The Warriors had grandiose plans of adding LeBron and possibly Anthony Davis, giving Stephen Curry one last run at relevancy. Instead, they're running back an old team that probably won't get Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody back until the second half of the season. 

Golden State now has a razor-thin margin to make the playoffs. Al Horford is 40 years old, Kristaps Porzingis only played in 32 games last season due to injuries and his POTS diagnosis, and Curry's knees only have so much more juice left in them. Their chances for a deep playoff run evaporated after the LeBron door closed.

Cavs

Cleveland's biggest issue last season was that they fell apart in the most pressurized situations. Although LeBron's fit would not have been perfect with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden dominating the ball, he would definitely have helped win games in the real world instead of the analytics department. 

It will be interesting to see which of the Cavs and Heat are better at the end of the year. While LeBron certainly gives Miami a ton of top end talent, Cleveland still projects to be the better regular season team because of its superior depth. That becomes less important during the playoffs, and LeBron might have to rip the heart of his old team in May. 

Timberwolves  

Minnesota would have been the best fit for LeBron. They traded away both Julius Randle and Naz Reid, leaving a perfect opening for him to start games. They have younger players who could have helped out the grind of the regular season, allowing him to conserve himself for fourth quarters and big playoff games. And they have the winning formula to defeat his biggest Lakers rival, the Nuggets. 

The Wolves did at least benefit from getting LeBron to the other conference. But they still badly need to add forward depth, and they missed out on getting the best possible option at a value price. 

Heat

The Heat badly need LeBron even after acquiring Giannis, who they traded most of their depth away for. Now, they look like they will be outside of the top four teams in the East. 

Miami still needs more guard depth and shooting. It's tough to see them winning a championship as currently constructed. 

The East

The days of the Leastern Conference are over. The Knicks are the defending champions. The Celtics are projected as one of the top teams even despite losing Jaylen Brown. Kawhi Leonard presumably is coming to the Raptors. The Pacers are healthy now after a gap year. And the Sixers look interesting. 

It should never have been in doubt that LeBron was going to head East if his goal was to prioritize winning. He made eight consecutive Finals appearances from 2011-2018 across his time with the Heat and Cavs, winning three rings during that span. He has owned that conference. 

The East is now completely wide open. The road to the Finals will be a bloodbath.