The Toronto Raptors are turning to a familiar face from their past, while the visiting Chicago Bulls are looking toward the future as both teams begin new eras in Wednesday’s season opener.
The Raptors officially re-acquired Kawhi Leonard in a September trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. The deal was delayed during an NBA investigation that found the Clippers and Leonard violated salary-cap circumvention rules; Los Angeles was fined $30 million and stripped of five future first-round picks, while Leonard was separately fined $700,000.
Leonard led Toronto to its first NBA championship in 2019 and claimed his second NBA Finals MVP, with the first coming in 2014 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
Toronto hopes Leonard, 35, can build on a resurgent season and lead the team into the Eastern Conference’s top tier. He played 65 games in 2025-26 — his second-highest total in seven seasons with the Clippers — and averaged a career-high 27.9 points with 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
The Raptors went 46-36, finished fifth in the Eastern Conference and made the playoffs for the first time since 2022. They pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games before losing in the first round. Toronto led the NBA with 18.9 points per game on the fastbreak, and Leonard said he expects to fit into a team that defends first and runs in transition.
“I think it’s going to work great, just because we’re coming in to play defense first,” Leonard said. “I can play off anybody.”
Leonard joins rising star Scottie Barnes, who averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists, and second-year big Collin Murray-Boyles, who averaged 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Chicago’s reset reaches from the front office to the bench. The Bulls fired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on April 6, when the team was 29-49 and 12th in the Eastern Conference. Chicago finished 31-51.
During Karnisovas and Eversley’s tenure, the Bulls went 224-254, made one playoff appearance, in 2022, and reached the play-in tournament in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Head coach Billy Donovan stepped away soon after, ending a six-season run in which he went 226-256. Bryson Graham takes over as executive vice president of basketball operations, while Tiago Splitter replaces Donovan on the bench.
Splitter led Portland to a 42-40 record and a play-in tournament victory that earned the Trail Blazers the Western Conference’s seventh seed last season as interim coach.
“We are rebuilding,” Graham said. “I know I’ve said that. We’re at the ground floor. We’re building the foundation for this organization and what it’s going to look like moving forward.”
Graham hopes No. 4 draft pick Caleb Wilson can become a cornerstone. The rookie averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds in 24 games at North Carolina before fractures in his left hand and later right thumb ended his freshman season.
Wilson joins a young core featuring Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey, all 23 or younger. Chicago also added veteran guard Norman Powell, coming off an All-Star season with Miami, and acquired center Nic Claxton in a trade with Brooklyn.
The Bulls also acquired Buddy Hield, who played 44 games last season for the Warriors and seven for the Hawks, in a trade with Charlotte for Rob Dillingham.
