Raptors Offseason Review, Season Preview: Can Leonard and Barnes Lead a Title Run?

The Raptors' road to real Eastern Conference contention opened in earnest Monday, when Toronto and the LA Clippers finally hit send on their l ong-delayed trade that will send seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram , Gradey Dick , two unprotected first-round picks, one first-round pick swap and two second-round picks.

The trade ends a saga that enveloped both teams, as the NBA completed its nearly year-long investigation into allegations of salary cap circumvention stemming from the Clippers' dealings with Leonard over the course of his tenure in Los Angeles.

Now with Leonard in Toronto, the two-time Finals MVP will pair with rising star Scottie Barnes and second-year big Collin Murray-Boyles , hoping to replicate the success of their title run in 2019.

ESPN's staff of experts is looking back at the offseason and taking an early look at the 2026-27 season , with 30 previews -- one for every team -- rolling out each weekday through Friday. We're answering the biggest looming questions, evaluating X factors and much more.

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Key additions: Kawhi Leonard , Kyle Anderson , Andre Jackson Jr .

Key subtractions: Brandon Ingram , Gradey Dick , Sandro Mamukelashvili

Key retentions: Jamal Shead

After waiting months to finalize their acquisition of Leonard from the Clippers because of the NBA's investigation into salary cap circumvention, the Raptors can finally look ahead to what could be their most promising season in years.

Leonard, who led Toronto to the 2019 championship, plugs in as a major positional upgrade over Ingram. The rest of the Raptors' starting lineup remains intact, and forward Collin Murray-Boyles should only improve after a standout rookie campaign.

While losing Mamukelashvili in free agency took a bite out of their bench unit, Toronto has crafted a high-energy and versatile supporting cast for Leonard and two-time All-Star Scottie Barnes .

The plucky Raptors, who won 46 games last season, have a real shot to win their first playoff series since 2020. -- Ben Golliver

Zach Kram's offseason grade: A

Toronto's only real move of consequence this summer was trading for Kawhi Leonard , who should bring major improvements over Brandon Ingram on both ends -- especially offense, where Leonard is the sort of primary option and half-court scorer whom the previous version of the Raptors lacked.

The cost in draft picks was substantially greater than the last time Toronto traded for Leonard, eight years ago, but it was a worthwhile risk for a team that now has a legitimate chance to reach the Finals if Leonard can stay healthy next season. That gamble worked out eight years ago, after all. -- Kram

The Raptors had two good reasons to go through with the Kawhi Leonard trade.

After enjoying a 16-win jump in the standings and snapping a three-year playoff drought, the Raptors entered the summer with a bunch of big contracts on their books and limited avenues to take the next step.

The simplest path to improvement involved packaging either Immanuel Quickley or Brandon Ingram along with other players or picks for positional upgrades. Given the hearty salaries owed to Quickley and Ingram, that wasn't going to be an easy task. But the Raptors managed to construct exactly this type of trade by sending Ingram, Gradey Dick , two first-round picks, a first-round swap and two second-round picks to the LA Clippers for Kawhi Leonard .

The primary goal of the deal, of course, was to bring Leonard back to the organization he led to the 2019 title. With a two-time Finals MVP in place, Toronto could feel much more comfortable against the East's elite and start dreaming about winning its first playoff series since 2020.

The trade's other huge benefit was shedding Ingram's contract. The two-time All-Star disappeared during the 2026 playoffs, and he is owed $40 million in 2026-27 and $41.9 million in 2027-28.

While trading for Ingram in 2025 and subsequently re-signing him were both ill-advised decisions, flipping him for Leonard amounted to a brilliant use of the undo button.

The long-discussed Leonard trade was finally consummated Monday after the NBA completed its investigation into allegations of salary cap circumvention. Once the league office announced that Leonard's punishment was limited to a $700,000 fine, Toronto was able to proceed with a bold move that added talent and fixed a past mistake. -- Golliver

Barnes' impressive growth shouldn't get lost in all the hubbub over Leonard's arrival.

The 2021 lottery pick really came into his own during his age-24 season, improving his scoring efficiency, earning his first All-Defensive Team selection and raising his game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.

While the Raptors lost their first-round series in seven games, Barnes averaged 24.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game -- a level of all-around playoff production matched only by LeBron James , Nikola Jokic and Cade Cunningham over the past decade.

Barnes should be regarded as one of the leading Defensive Player of the Year candidates, and he just might pop up on future MVP ballots if his upward trajectory and Toronto's winning ways continue. -- Golliver

Here are the predicted net points per 100 possessions for the Raptors' top seven players for the 2026-27 season:

Kawhi Leonard shot 6.8 3-pointers per game last year, a career high, at 39%, below what he shot in each of the four prior seasons. But the extra volume meant he added plus-1.9 net points per 100 possessions on 3s vs. plus-1.6 in prior years. That's not a huge bump, but it's relevant.

Also, Leonard is one of those rare players whose college 3-point percentage was really low (25%), only to shoot really well in the NBA (39%). -- Dean Oliver

Read about how net points works here .

PF Collin Murray-Boyles

Ever since the Raptors agreed to acquire Leonard from the Clippers, thoughts of the Leonard/Barnes/Murray-Boyles defensive trio have tantalized. That's the key group and lineup combination that could propel the Raptors to lofty heights this season.

So even though Murray-Boyles is only a second-year player who averaged 8.5 points as a rookie, he profiles as one of the biggest X factors in the league.

For the Raptors to maximize their window with Leonard, they need Murray-Boyles to take greater steps this season and prove his bona fides as a small-ball center who can replace Jakob Poeltl in clutch situations. -- Kram

_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49951883/toronto-raptors-2026-27-season-preview-stats-roster-kawhi-leonard-scottie-barnes)._