Ranking the top five teams in the Eastern Conference after the 76ers’ big summer

This story originally appeared in the Globe’s Sunday Basketball Notes. Read the rest here.

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With the 76ers adding LeBron James in addition to Jaylen Brown, and the Raptors potentially acquiring Kawhi Leonard — a deal that’s still waiting on the Aspiration investigation into Leonard’s endorsement deal — the Eastern Conference has changed dramatically since the Knicks won the championship just six weeks ago.

Let’s take an early look and forecast the top five teams.

1. Knicks: They are first because they are the defending champions, but their offseason has been rather boring. They lost Mitchell Robinson to the Celtics, but replaced him with Andre Drummond. That’s a drop-off, but the rest of the cast is back, led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Repeating is hard, but New York found something in the playoffs last season, and there’s no reason why it can’t make another deep run.

2. 76ers: With James joining Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia is in the championship conversation. It could take a few months to gain true chemistry, but there’s no way a group of veteran players can’t sacrifice their individual accolades for the sake of the collective goal. James can play point guard and move Maxey to the shooting guard, while Brown will have a new challenge — carving out a role in the midst of so much talent, and perhaps taking a step forward defensively.

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3. Celtics: Still talented despite Brown’s departure, but two things have to happen for Boston to compete with the elite teams: Paul George has to be a factor on both defense and offense (and has to reach the 60-game mark), and the group of Jordan Walsh, Hugo González, Baylor Scheierman, and Ron Harper Jr. will have to take a step forward and emerge as a productive bench. Robinson will make up for a lot of his teammates’ mistakes on defense, and also get the team extra possessions as a premier offensive rebounder.

4. Pistons: Detroit appeared to be on its way up the East hierarchy, but stumbled as the No. 1 seed in the conference semifinals and is now in the midst of a difficult negotiation with restricted free agent center Jalen Duren. Detroit made some interesting offseason moves, adding Isaiah Joe and John Collins while losing Tobias Harris. Is it enough to elevate the Pistons to the level of the top two teams? Likely not.

5. Raptors: The addition of Leonard, if it happens, gives Toronto an established scorer and a veteran presence to join Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett. Remember, Toronto pushed Cleveland to seven games in the first round without point guard Immanuel Quickley and with Brandon Ingram missing portions of the series. They have a group of athletic wings off the bench, including Collin Murray-Boyles and Ja’Kobe Walter. Toronto could be a real sleeper if it stays healthy.

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