Back to the Miami Heat Newsfeed

Miami Heat: Who will rule the Eastern Conference in 2018-19?

On July 1, Magic Johnson had a conversation that would change the trajectory of the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future.

Armed to the teeth with knowledge of the most talented basketball player on the planet, Johnson’s negotiation skills needed only 17 hours to resonate with LeBron James.

When Klutch Sports announced that James would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year, $154 million deal, it was done without the fanfare and pyrotechnics that usually accompany Lakers news.

A simple white text document was all it took to reshape basketball:

James, who was the headliner of the NBA’s 2018-19 free agency class, deflated the excitement of the summer.