The blockbuster trade that will send Canadians Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love later this month is drawing buzz all around the NBA.
Toronto fans in particular have welcomed the news, with many believing the move to be a clear indication that Wiggins will eventually return to the Great White North and play for his hometown Raptors.
Four years is a long time, though, and given the Raptors’ surprising success last season, instead of dreaming of what could be—as fun as that is—it’s worth focusing on what’s likely to happen in the immediate future.
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The Raptors could be in for a rough few years given what we’ve learned of the trade. Even bigger than the Cavs acquiring a 25-year-old, three-time all-star power forward who can stretch can floor, is the fact that they’re likely to have him for more than the two seasons he has remaining on his current deal. It’s been reported that Love will opt out in 2015 and re-sign with the club for another five years.
That means the Cavaliers are likely to be a perennial power in the Eastern Conference for at least the next half decade, making the mountain the East’s up-and-coming contenders (Raptors included) have to climb seemingly impossible to summit.
In the grand scheme of things, the East hasn’t changed that much compared to the last four seasons. Just as Miami appears to have fallen, another superpower fueled by LeBron James and a pair of supporting superstars has risen.
At the same time, as the Indiana Pacers already look done for the year with Lance Stephenson’s departure and Paul George’s horrific injury, the Chicago Bulls look like they’re ready to take back their crown thanks to the acquisition of Pau Gasol and the impending return of an explosive-looking Derrick Rose.
Everything changes and nothing changes. Yet again, the East is a top-heavy conference with two teams that, on paper, look prepped to dominate.
So what does that mean for Toronto?
Given the Raptors’ rise, the timing is both good and bad. On the one hand, with the two big guns in the East both suiting up in the Central Division, and the fast-rising Washington Wizards in the Southeast, the Raptors shouldn’t have a lot of problems staying on top of the Atlantic for the next few years. On the other, the Raptors will face a constant roadblock in either the Bulls or Cavaliers. Can they make it over that hump?
The team is undoubtedly competitive and features two legitimate all-star-calibre guards in DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, but that may not be enough to combat the wattage of superstardom the Cavaliers have assembled.
Offensively speaking, Cleveland should be absolutely monstrous. We know about James’s freakish athleticism, but because he’s always dominated the ball we’ve never truly seen what all that length, strength and leaping ability can really do on the wing. With Kyrie Irving running the show at the point, however, we may finally see that.
Irving has one of the best handles in the entire league and can fill it up like few others when he gets going. As for Love? Well, he’s arguably the best power forward in the game, with a skill-set like no other. His post game boasts a myriad of both power and finesse moves, he’s an excellent passer everywhere on the floor, one of the deadliest stretch-fours in the league with incredible shooting range and an awesome rebounder on both backboards.
Defensively, Cleveland may struggle a little, but with the league shifting further and further to an offensive emphasis, just being within the top-12 in defensive rating should be more than enough for the Cavs’ offence to carry them.
So maybe waiting for the prodigal son to return is the only way the Raptors are going to slay this Ohio giant. However, four years can be a mighty long time and patience can run thin—particularly for a team that very well could be knocking on the door only to find themselves left out in the cold over and over again.