Chris Boucher

The 2020-21 season was a breakout year for Boucher. After struggling for meaningful minutes during his first three seasons, Boucher delivered per game career highs last year in points (13.6), rebounds (6.7), blocks (1.9) and assists (1.1) over a career-best 24.2 minutes per game. The Raptors usually started either Aron Baynes or Khem Birch and then brought Boucher in off the bench. This year, Baynes is no longer with Toronto, so Boucher will battle Birch for minutes. Both centers are entering their age-29 season, so neither has an ideal timeline for the rebuilding Raptors. Over the summer, Toronto signed Birch to a three-year deal while Boucher has only one season remaining on his contract. So while the organization might be more committed to Birch, it's Boucher who delivers the gaudier stats. Boucher's 1.9 blocks per contest ranked fifth in the Association and he also drained a surprising 1.5 three-pointers per game last year. While Baynes has departed, Toronto acquired young big Precious Achiuwa in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Kyle Lowry to Miami. The 6-foot-8 Achiuwa will fight for minutes at both the four and the five. With Lowry gone, the Raptors should be looking for points from every position, which could aid Boucher's attempt to score more minutes.

Boucher signed a two-year, $13.5 million contract this offseason to remain with the Raptors. The center is coming off a breakout campaign with the Raptors where he played a pivotal role off the bench, averaging 6.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 13.2 minutes. He also made 38 three-pointers at 32.2 percent. With the Raptors signing Aron Baynes, Boucher will likely remain a backup for the time being. However, Boucher could potentially land some starts as Baynes has missed 71 combined games over the past two seasons due to injuries. Plus, after also losing Serge Ibaka, the Raptors have a relatively thin frontline. If Boucher can find himself in a role of roughly 20 minutes per game between center and power forward, he should hold some fantasy relevance. When seeing 15-plus minutes last season, he averaged 12.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 threes.

Compared to a 2017-18 rookie campaign in Golden State during which he played just one game, Boucher saw a huge increase in playing time last season. While that equated to participation in 28 games overall, Boucher still averaged just 5.8 minutes per contest. He churned out averages of 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds, posting a 44.7 percent success rate from the floor, including 32.4 percent from three-point range. Boucher displayed above-average floor-stretching capability during his two college seasons at Oregon, shooting 33.9 and 35.0 percent from distance, respectively. He also turned in an excellent tenure in the Las Vegas Summer League in July, averaging 23.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks across 31.0 minutes over four games. Boucher was slated to continue his development during this month's FIBA World Cup, but he'll end up missing the tournament for personal reasons. Looking ahead to the 2019-20 season, Boucher projects to remain firmly behind both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka on the depth chart at center. However, any injuries to either of the two veterans would certainly open up some opportunity for him. Additionally, with both Gasol and Ibaka slated for unrestricted free agency following the coming campaign, there should be a certain degree of motivation to prepare Boucher for a potential starting job, or a very expanded role at minimum, in the 2020-21 season.

After nabbing big man Jordan Bell in the second round of the draft in June, the Warriors decided to go back to the University of Oregon well to sign Boucher, who had served as Bell’s backup in the frontcourt last season. Much like Bell, the springy Boucher counts rim protection as his top skill, thanks in no small part to his 6-foot-10 frame and 7-foot-4 wingspan. Along with chipping in averages of 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, Boucher actually bested Bell for the team lead with 2.5 blocks per game as a senior. Unfortunately for Boucher, his college career came to a premature end during the Pac-12 tournament semifinals in March, when he suffered a torn ACL that required surgery. The procedure likely contributed to Boucher going unselected, but his two-way deal with the Warriors will allow him to move forward with his rehab under the supervision of the reigning NBA champs. Boucher will likely be sidelined for most, if not all, of the first half of the season, but if he’s able to reclaim some health and explosiveness upon returning from the injury, he could eventually carve out a spot in the Warriors’ frontcourt rotation. That’s unlikely to materialize in 2017-18, however, as Boucher’s appearances are expected to come almost exclusively in the G-League.