New Chicago Bulls Turn Heads in 123-107 Loss to Toronto Raptors

The Chicago Bulls may very well have needed "Hello, my name is" stickers before their Thursday night game against the Raptors. On the heels of the team's most chaotic trade deadline in ages, Chicago's roster looked completely different when it took the floor in Toronto.

Although the result was as expected — a 123-107 loss to the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference — the early returns from the Bulls' trade deadline acquisitions were promising. Former Celtics guard Anfernee Simons led the way with a team-high 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting from deep, showing his long-range flamethrower ability with several heat-check threes.

The Bulls largely operated without a true point guard, as a result of the Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu trades, in addition to injuries to Josh Giddey and Tre Jones. Jaden Ivey has spent most of his young career as the Pistons' off-ball shooting guard next to Cade Cunningham, but playing alongside Simons on Thursday, the former top-five draft pick handled a fair share of the Bulls' facilitator duties.

Ivey had moments in which he struggled to mesh with his new team, but the ex-Detroit guard still made an impact on both ends of the floor. In 33 minutes, Ivey posted 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep, six assists, four rebounds and three steals with only two turnovers. The soon-to-be 24-year-old projects to have the highest ceiling of Chicago's acquisitions, as he's still looking to find his footing following a devastating leg injury that he suffered last season.

The final trade addition that debuted for the Bulls on Thursday, Guerschon Yabusele, actually logged his best performance of the season. With the New York Knicks this season, the Frenchman only scored in double figures once and spent most of his time at the back end of the rotation. He averaged 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in just 8.9 minutes per game.

Yabusele ended up leading the Bulls by playing 33 minutes and 14 seconds off the bench on Thursday. The 6-foot-7 power forward finished with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double and added three assists and two steals. Yabusele shot 6-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

It's difficult to make reasonable conclusions from a game like that. The Bulls didn't — and couldn't — run many advanced offensive sets, had virtually no team chemistry and essentially needed each player to create their own shot 75% of the time. Yet, Chicago wasn't blown out, as many would've expected.

The Raptors built a lead that grew as large as 15 points before halftime, but the Bulls dug their heels in and battled back to tie the game at 76-76 in the third quarter. Even though Chicago lost by double digits, it did not quit, and the new Bulls showed flashes alongside returning players like Matas Buzelis (18 points, six rebounds) and Jalen Smith (13 points, nine rebounds).

More reinforcements are coming, too. Trades with the Timberwolves for Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller, the Suns for Nick Richards and the Hornets for Collin Sexton all became official after the game, and Bulls fans likely will not have to wait long to see their new additions take the floor.