The Raptors’ summer of nostalgia may not be done yet.
After bringing back their 2019 championship centerpiece in a deal that sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and a bunch of draft picks to the Clippers for Kawhi Leonard, Toronto is also expected to let Kyle Lowry sign a one-day deal so he can retire as a Raptor. Now there’s another former star sitting in the middle of the conversation: DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan was waived by the Kings, opening the door for a possible return to Toronto. For Raptors fans, the idea has obvious appeal. He was a four-time All-Star with the team and earned a spot on the 2018 All-NBA Second Team before the franchise sent him to San Antonio in the trade that brought Leonard to Toronto the first time.
The possibility has already picked up steam beyond pure fan wishcasting. NBA Insider Jake Fischer said, “I do think there’s a lot of excitement in Toronto about potentially having DeMar back in the fold as well,” Fischer said.
He also added, “We’re looking at Toronto. We’re looking at potentially Miami.”
And Fischer made the financial angle pretty clear: “The one thing we know for sure about DeMar is that there was not really a trade market for him at a 20+ million dollar salary, but there will be a lot of interest in him at a vet minimum.”
That matters because Toronto is operating under a tight financial squeeze after the Leonard trade and will need to fill out the roster with veteran minimum contracts. If DeRozan is willing to come back on that kind of deal, the reunion becomes much more than a sentimental idea.
On the court, the fit is easy to understand. Even with Leonard in the mix, the Raptors still need perimeter depth and scoring help off the bench.
DeRozan averaged 18.4 points per game as a starter for the Kings, and while his role in Toronto would almost certainly be smaller, he still showed he can get buckets at 36. He also did it efficiently, shooting almost 50% from the field.
That said, the concern is obvious: the 3-point shot. DeRozan has hit 30.2% of his career attempts from deep and shot 32% on 1.9 tries per game last season. Toronto already has spacing issues, so adding another scorer who doesn’t really force defenses to stretch out is a real complication.
The Raptors have already signed Kyle Anderson, who can make threes but usually doesn’t take many. If Toronto keeps stacking that kind of profile, the pressure only grows on Leonard, Immanuel Quickley, and Ja’Kobe Walter to carry the shooting load.
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Raptors Reunion With DeMar May Have Been Doomed All Along
The Raptors long-ago pivot to Kawhi Leonard still hangs over any conversation about a DeMar DeRozan reunion, because the idea has always been about more than nostalgia. Toronto has spent years trying to balance star power, lineup fit and the cultural pull that comes with being the citys team, and DeRozans name keeps surfacing whenever the roster looks like it could use another proven scorer. Even the outside chatter has reflected that tension, with some around the league wondering whether the franchises identity, not just its basketball fit, would make a return feel complicated.
Sam Quinn of CBS has argued DeRozan is not the cleanest fit for what Toronto would need now, suggesting the Raptors could instead lean on staggered usage with Scottie Barnes and Leonard to create offense. Drakes presence in the Toronto conversation only adds another layer, since his influence around the team has often been part of the backdrop whenever old Raptors ties come up. For now, the reunion remains more of a debate than a transaction, and the real question is whether the organization ever decides the basketball case is strong enough to override everything else. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Urged To Reunite Kawhi With A Familiar Franchise Star
The Raptors offseason has already taken a dramatic turn with the move that brought Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto, and the front office now faces the harder part of building a roster around him. One name that has surfaced in that conversation is DeMar DeRozan, whose release by Sacramento has reopened the door to a possible reunion with the franchise that helped define his prime years.
There is appeal in the idea of adding a veteran scorer who could steady second units and take some pressure off the stars, but the fit is not especially clean. Toronto would have to weigh shooting concerns and the overlap between DeRozans game, Leonards usage and Scottie Barnes role as an offense driver when Leonard sits, which makes this a more complicated basketball question than a nostalgic one. [Read more 🡒]
Kyle Lowry Day Just Turned Kawhi Leonard's Return Into Pressure
Kyle Lowrys day in Toronto was supposed to be about celebration, and in a lot of ways it was. The franchise retired No. 7 in his honor, giving the longest-tenured face of the Raptors era a proper hometown salute, and Lowry used the moment to look back on the years that made him a fixture in team history. It was the kind of ceremony that reminded everyone how much of the modern Raptors identity was built around his edge, his leadership and the title chase that changed the organization forever.
But the return of Kawhi Leonard has shifted the conversation from memory to expectation. Lowry made it clear the bar is no longer nostalgia, and the front office has been just as direct about the goal now that Leonard is back in the fold. With the 2026-27 season in view, the message around the team is unmistakable: this is about winning another championship, and anything less would feel like a missed opportunity. [Read more 🡒]