You'd be forgiven if you're tired of seeing Kawhi Leonard's name in your news feed. Between his injury history, early playoff exits in LA and the incredible Aspiration scandal, it's been pretty much all bad news, too.
Bad enough that Leonard's trade from the Clippers to the Raptors — which should be a massive, league-altering, blockbuster deal — has been relatively ho-hummed into the background of the NBA news cycle.
The trade that was made public for the first time on June 30 (that feels like forever ago) but was delayed by the Aspiration news is finally ready for sign-off: Kawhi goes to Toronto, where he won the 2019 title, for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, one first-round pick swap and two second-rounders, per Shams Charania of ESPN.
And the Bulls' season opener just became a whole lot more intriguing.
Bulls open the 2026-27 season against Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors
It's not unrealistic to expect a healthy, productive Kawhi once he gets back on an NBA floor. The oft-injured 35-year-old is coming off a resurgent season in which he played 65 games and averaged 32.1 minutes per contest.
He averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals with a slash line of 50.5/38.7/89.2 on his way to being named Second Team All-NBA and finishing seventh in MVP voting.
That could very well be the version of Leonard the Bulls see when they kick off their season in Toronto on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The Bulls will be tested early and often this year
After taking on the Raptors in Toronto, head coach Tiago Splitter's squad will play two winnable games, first on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks and then at home against the Washington Wizards. Then, things get interesting.
The Bulls play seven consecutive contests against title contenders beginning on Oct. 26: the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs. Their next three are against playoff teams from last year in the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers.
This year should be fun for fans in the Windy City. Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick in this past summer's draft, already looks like a superstar. Matas Buzelis is back for year three after another offseason of growth. Under the direction of executive VP of basketball operations Bryson Graham, it seems like the organization is finally moving in a logical direction.
But the Bulls shouldn't expect to turn that excitement into wins quite yet. Not even on opening night.
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