The Clippers’ 2026-27 schedule gives fans an early marker for a possible Kawhi Leonard homecoming, and it doesn’t take long.
If the trade sending Leonard to Toronto is eventually finalized, the first Raptors-Clippers meeting in Los Angeles is set for Monday, November 2nd. That game comes after LA opens its season at home against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, October 21st, with tip-off scheduled for 9:30 p.m.
ET. The second regular-season matchup between the two teams lands on Friday, January 1st in Toronto.
There’s also a preseason date on the calendar. The Clippers will face the Raptors on Saturday, October 10th.
For now, though, the biggest issue is that the deal can’t be completed until the league finishes its investigation into the Clippers. The trade, agreed to at the end of June, would send Leonard to Toronto in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and several draft picks. Current cap circumvention allegations surrounding LA and Leonard have put the move on hold, though executives believe a resolution will come before the season begins.
The schedule itself doesn’t exactly hand the Clippers a soft landing. Their first 10 games include matchups with the Lakers, Thunder, Heat, and Timberwolves, a stretch that will show quickly where this group stands.
And this is a very different Clippers team in the making. Trading Leonard was one of several major signs that the franchise is turning the page after falling short of expectations last season. LA also moved James Harden and Ivica Zubac, clearing the way for a new direction.
That new direction centers on rookie guard Keaton Wagler, who sits at the front of the soft rebuild. The Clippers also have Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Kobe Sanders, and Isaiah Jackson in the mix, but the roster doesn’t come with a proven lead option. A play-in berth is possible, yet in a crowded Western Conference, it won’t come easy.
Without a clear “alpha,” the focus shifts to development and, ideally, adding draft capital at the trade deadline. Nobody wants to see a rebuild drag on, but that appears to be the path LA is taking. The Clippers were not headed for a deep playoff run with Leonard anyway, and now the franchise is preparing for the Wagler era while still needing to sort out a few roster decisions before opening night.
In Other News...
3 Clippers Games Could Define How Fans See This Next Chapter
With the full 82-game schedule now out, the Clippers next season already has a few dates circled for reasons that go beyond wins and losses. The calendar includes a possible matchup with Toronto that would bring Kawhi Leonard back into a familiar spotlight, along with a visit from Indiana that would put Ivica Zubac back at the Intuit Dome in front of a crowd that knows his value well.
Utah also looms as a game worth watching because of the rookie angle, with Keaton Wagler and Darryn Peterson set up for another meeting in a matchup that could say plenty about the next wave of talent around the league. For the Clippers, though, these dates carry an extra layer of intrigue because some of the surrounding business is still tied to the NBAs investigation, leaving a few of the seasons biggest storylines open-ended for now. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Still Waiting On A Draft Decision That Affects Roster Flexibility
Karim Lopez finally put pen to paper on July 29, giving the Memphis Grizzlies the last unsigned first-rounder from the 2026 NBA draft and clearing one more item off a busy summer checklist across the league. With the first round now signed from top to bottom, attention has shifted to the second round, where 21 of 30 picks have agreed to contracts and the rest are still sorting through the usual mix of standard deals, two-way possibilities and overseas options.
For clubs still waiting, the delay is less about drama than flexibility, because every unsigned pick leaves another layer of roster planning unsettled. Teams are weighing not just where those players will develop, but how those decisions affect open spots and cap management heading into the fall, and that leaves a few front offices in a holding pattern while the rest of the draft class settles into place. [Read more 🡒]