What was that about Orlando being the team to beat in the East? Move over Grant and Tracy.

	Carter will be in a Raptors uniform a lot longer than most people thought.

Suddenly, the Toronto Raptors are a team to reckon with.

Hakeem Olajuwon in the middle. Vince Carter at two guard. Antonio Davis playing his natural power forward position. Please, who in the East is head and shoulders better than this team?

Wednesday was a glorious day in Canada.

First, Carter agreed to a $90-plus million deal that will make him a Raptor for at least seven more years. Then came word that Olajuwon had wearied of Houston, that he could not see a championship in the Rockets future, that he looked at the Raptors with Carter, Davis, the Williams boys and said, this is where I want to be.

A big step up? Absolutely.

A chance to win it all? Well, in the East, yes.

Stats and Stuff

Carter's 24.6 ppg average over his first three years is second only to Shaquille O'Neal (27.3) among active players, just ahead of David Robinson (24.4) and nearly a point better than Allen Iverson (23.7). The Raptors finished last in the Central Division in each of their first three seasons, winning just over one-fourth of their games (.272 percentage). But since Vince Carter arrived before the '98-99 season, he has led them to a .537 win percentage, and they have made the playoffs the last two years. Oddly enough, the Raptors' scoring has been nearly identical before and after Vince joined the team (95.95 vs. 95.94 ppg). The '93-94 season was the best of Olajuwon's career, and the three that followed were nearly as good and included two NBA Championships for the Rockets. But the four years since have seen Hakeem's scoring average drop by nearly 12 points (26.3 to 14.4) compared to the previous four, while has also seen significant declines in rebounding (10.7 to 8.3) and blocks (3 to 1.9). Most importantly, though, The Dream has missed more than 20 games per season over the last four years.

Twice the Rockets have virtually counted out their Dream, most recently when he developed blood clots again last March. At the time, his peers thought they had seen the last of him, too.

"Probably never see him again," Toni Kukoc said. "A shame. This man is a Hall of Fame player."

Well, hold off the induction ceremony. Olajuwon isn't done yet, not with the Raptors acquiring him in a sign-and-trade deal for a reported three-year deal that should be worth nearly $17 million, more than the Rockets were willing to pay in two separate offers.

Olajuwon averaged 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds on a team that was moving away from him last season. He still had the Dream Shake, still had his legendary pride and hunger. As he rounded into form after missing half the 1999-2000 season, Olajuwon showed a renewed zest for the game.

Put him in a new town, with a new team, and even at age 38 he can provide the rebounding and the low-post offense that will make Carter and the Raptors' other good shooters all the more dangerous.

With Davis, Jerome Williams and Alvin Williams back in the fold, the Raptors bring back the nucleus of a moderately successful team. They've committed about $140 million to these players and raised their payroll about $10 million to $48 million, which tells you more about today's sports business climate than the abilities of three pretty good players.

With Carter and Olajuwon committed to the franchise, you have to like this squad as a solid upper-level playoff team in the East.

This is Grunwald's doing.

	J. Williams

	Davis

Remember when Isiah Thomas broke with splintered ownership and bolted the team? Remember when Damon Stoudamire announced he would not come back to Toronto with Thomas gone? Remember when the Raptors, in utter disarray under Darrell Walker, were a joke? Grunwald walked onto the court at Skydome one night with a microphone to thank the fans for coming and to promise them better days. They booed so loudly he could not be heard.

	Olajuwon

Game and set to Grunwald, who is in a position to win the match and show the rest of the NBA that Canada isn't the problem, that a team north of the border can deal with high taxes just as they do in New York and California, that the disgraceful performance of the Grizzlies and special economic circumstances peculiar to Vancouver led to the demise of that franchise.

As Grunwald pointed out recently, Carter now is the star NBA player of a nation of 33 million people.

Toronto is a fine city. Its splendid arena and a solid roster enhance a welcome atmosphere. Visiting players can go to shooting practice and feel relatively safe because Charles Oakley was shipped out of town. Come to think of it, Lenny Wilkens can feel safe -- Oakley plainly did not like the game's Hall of Fame coach and player.

Davis says he and Jerome Williams can compensate for the toughness the Raptors lost when Grunwald moved the disgruntled Oakley and created a $5 million salary exception his team is using to lure that much-needed big man. This is a balanced team that Grunwald has handed Wilkens, who watches developments from his summer home in Seattle. Forward Morris Peterson (9.3 ppg.) showed he was a legit rookie when Wilkens gave him a chance to start last season. And No. 17 pick Michael Bradley (6-10, Villanova) has a solid future.

Young center Keon Clark, acquired last season at the cost of aging Kevin Williams, is lively and a terrific weakside shotblocker.

Last spring, the Raptors had to go 11-3 at the end to close at 47-35. They were too tough for the Knicks and it can be argued that had Carter not flown to Chapel Hill for a graduation ceremony, he would have had the energy to outplay Aaron McKie and send his team to the Eastern finals against Milwaukee.

Wilkens has taken some blame for the club's occasional slumps into mediocre performance (see Oakley's criticisms) and certainly he could have taken a stronger hand with Carter, who appeared to intimidate the entire organization.

But Wilkens is nonetheless a fundamentally sound coach who can still muster the energy to challenge his teams. He is not an exciting coach, but this is a place where the players can provide welcome excitement.

If he didn't make all of this happen by himself, Glen Grunwald was the enabler. Getting the team's solid veterans to re-up, then getting Carter to put his stamp on it will be Grunwald's legacy.

Now, he gets Olajuwon. The man deserves an A.

Jeffrey Denberg, who covers the NBA for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.