Anytime a team trades away their franchise superstar, major headlines are to follow. As the Minnesota Timberwolves let-go of Kevin Love in a blockbuster deal that saw them draw a fantastic return which included two number one overall picks – Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett – the deal automatically became thought of as unique in its kind. In most situations when an organisation is parting ways with a superstar, without hesitation, most consider them the automatic losers of the deal. The immediate reaction to this deal, as it presented as unusual, was that the Cleveland Cavaliers, who received Kevin Love, were going to be the short term beneficiaries and the Minnesota Timberwolves would benefit in the long run, fortifying the uniqueness to the exchange. 174 days post-trade, we revisit what the exchange has meant for the now-rebuilding Timberwolves squad.

It is difficult for an organisation to feel great when they  come out of any situation in which they lose a franchise star, but that is just what the Timberwolves have done. After ditching Kevin Love to the Cavaliers and receiving both Wiggins and Bennett in exchange, the Timberwolves now look to have one of the NBA’s best young cores.

While the aforementioned Wiggins and Bennett are key figures in the team’s future plans, they are joined by fellow youngsters; Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Glenn Robinson III, and the recently acquired Adreian Payne.

From left-to-right: Shabazz Muhammad, Andrew Wiggins, Zack LaVine, Gorgui Dieng

All of these players are currently either campaigning through their rookie or sophomore years in the league. With starting point guard, Ricky Rubio at just 24 years old, this team is set up to be potentially elite in the years to come, especially considering the high likeliness that they add a top 5 pick from the NBA’s 2015 entry draft.

Revisiting who the Timberwolves actually received in the trade, Wiggins and Bennett, it is looking as though all is well. After a slow-start to his rookie campaign, Andrew Wiggins is now looking to be the future superstar everyone expected him he would emulate coming out of Huntington Prep HS. The nineteen year old is posting per game season averages of 15.2PTS 4.3REB 1.9AST in 34.5MPG however those numbers have escalated in the new year as the youngster posted an outstanding line of 19.8PTS 4.6REB 2.5AST in 17 January games displaying the skillset that made Cleveland select him at number one overall and made him a sought after asset by the TWolves.

Anthony Bennett has also impressed after a disastrous rookie year in Cleveland. This year has been a huge improvement. After impressing in summer league while playing for the Cavaliers, Bennett has progressed steadily in his sophomore year. Looking less like a future star and more to the regards of a good role-player (which is much better than how he looked last season), the young TWolves member has posted season averages of 5.2PTS and 4REB in 16 minutes of action per game.

Adding a potential trending star in Wiggins and a solid young piece in Bennett for Kevin Love is still looking the way it did months ago. Minnesota will reap the benefit of this deal long-term as they continue to add to their young core while the Cavaliers will contend in the present years to come.

Chris Gent can be found on Twitter @chrisgentnba