Chris Bosh is gone now, and the Toronto Raptors are trying to build a new era. And after a .500 start through the first two games, it’s been tough skating.

The Raptors have lost four in a row, the latest a 97-84 defeat at Portland on Saturday to drop the Raptors to 1-5 on the season.

Bosh, the key of Toronto’s team in recent years, left this offseason and joined LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami.

The team he left behind is struggling. Toronto is in the bottom half of the NBA in points scored and points allowed per game. After beating Cleveland at home Oct. 29, Toronto had to endure a four-game West Coast road trip. The result: losses to Sacramento, Utah, the Lakers and the Trail Blazers.

Toronto returns home to face Golden State on Monday and Charlotte on Wednesday.

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According to an NBA executive, the Chicago Bulls are the frontrunners to sign both Bosh and LeBron James. The New York Times report quotes the anonymous source as saying, “I think it’s a done deal.”

If true, it means the Raptors would be unable to pull off a sign-and-trade deal with Bosh, which was the prevailing hope this offseason. The team was under no illusion that it’d be able to retain Bosh’s services, but a sign-and-trade would have enabled the Raptors to at least get some young talent in return.Chicago’s draft-day dealing of Kurt Heinrich to the Washington Wizards gave the Bulls room to sign two max-level free agents, something they weren’t in a position to do beforehand. But if they are able to add Bosh and James to the nucleus of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, the Bulls will undoubtedly become the favorites to win the Eastern Conference crown next season.

The disgruntled Raptors forward has already soured on Toronto, and the feeling appears mutual. He has publicly stated that he’d like to be traded, and the franchise seems inclined to do so if it can shed the four years left on his $53 million contract, which he signed just last season.

The hot rumor has Turkoglu going to Sacramento in exchange for Andres Nocioni, who two years and $13.5 million left on his contract. With the Raptors likely headed toward rebuilding mode with free agent All-Star forward Chris Bosh almost assuredly signing elsewhere, the team would do well to ship Turkoglu out and fully embrace the idea of rebuilding. And with the Kings possessing cornerstones such as Tyreke Evans and Carl Landry, a player like Turkoglu could put the franchise back into the playoffs next season.