Raptors will feel repercussions of Giannis trade, whether he lands in Miami or Boston

Everyone is waiting for the first big domino of the offseason to fall: Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP has been on the trade block for months now, and, with the draft approaching, hopes are that a deal will get done soon. 

The Raptors aren’t reportedly in the running for Antetokounmpo, but whatever the Bucks decide to do will still impact them. For one, it will change the makeup of the Eastern Conference and potentially create more competition for the eight playoff spots. Secondly, it could open up an avenue for the Raptors to bring Myles Turner to town. 

As reported by Marc Stein, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics remain the two favorites to land Antetokounmpo—two possibilities with very different implications for the Raptors. 

The Celtics are already good. They finished second in the Eastern Conference despite playing without Jayson Tatum for part of the season, but flamed out in the first round of the playoffs. If they trade for Antetokounmpo, they might get even better, but it wouldn’t change things for the Raptors too much. As currently constructed, the Raptors aren’t equipped to truly compete with the likes of Detroit, Boston, and New York for a top-three finish anyway. 

Miami, on the other hand, should get significantly better with Antetokounmpo in the mix. They weren’t much of a threat to the Raptors’ playoff goals this year, but if they land Antetokounmpo and improve notably, they would break into an already close playoff picture and give the Raptors one more team to worry about. 

So, it might be better for the Raptors if Antetokounmpo lands in Boston instead. But, to be fair, even then, things could get complicated for the Raptors. After all, the new lottery system could incentivise the Bucks to build a playoff team around Jaylen Brown, who would likely be sent to Milwaukee in a trade with the Celtics, and become a team the Raptors need to worry about instead of rerouting him elsewhere for assets and starting a full-blown rebuild. 

The best outcome for the Raptors would be if Antetokounmpo is traded to a Western Conference team, but that seems very unlikely, given that he wants to stay in the east and the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers are reportedly out of the running.

The Eastern Conference could get very crowded next season

The Raptors are set to face a lot more competition in the playoff race next season than they did this year. The Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, Cavs, and Hawks aren’t going anywhere. Neither are the 76ers, if Joel Embiid and Paul George are healthy. The Magic and Hornets have a ton of potential and could quickly climb up the Eastern Conference ranks. Moreover, the Pacers will get Tyrese Haliburton back, which should be enough to propel them back to the top of the conference. 

Those teams, plus the Raptors, already make for ten squads chasing a playoff spot, which will leave some of them disappointed. If the Heat land Giannis and have enough left around him and Bam Adebayo, they will enter the race as well. 

As if that wasn’t enough yet, teams like the Bucks, Wizards, Nets, and Bulls will want to be as competitive as possible with the new lottery rules. 

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