Chris Boucher, Raptors Agree to New 3-Year, $35.2M Contract

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Chris Boucher is sticking with a deep Toronto Raptors team.

Boucher and Toronto agreed to a three-year, $35.3 million contract on Thursday, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

It isn’t particularly surprising he chose to remain with the Raptors considering he told reporters after the season, “I love Toronto. Toronto did a lot for me. … From the young player I was when I came here—I didn’t know much—to who I am now. I owe it all to Toronto.”

The forward is actually a two-time champion, although he played just one game for the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors and 28 games for the 2018-19 Raptors.

While Boucher wasn’t a primary contributor for either team, he has since become a much bigger factor for the Raptors and saw his minutes per game increase to 13.2 in 2019-20 and 24.2 during a breakout 2020-21 season.

He averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game that campaign and seemed primed to continue his upward trajectory on a playoff contender this past season.

However, the frontcourt also became more crowded in 2021-22 with Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes and Precious Achiuwa, so Boucher had to take a step back in the rotation. He was still a solid secondary contributor who posted 9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks a night across a career-best 80 games.

He also looked every bit the part of someone who can take on a larger role when he tallied 17 points and eight boards in Game 2 of Toronto’s first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers and then 25 points and 10 rebounds in Game 6.

Those were the two contests he played 30 or more minutes, suggesting he can be a double-double threat with more opportunity.

That may not come in 2022-23 considering the presence of Barnes, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Achiuwa, but Boucher is familiar with Toronto’s system, coming off an impressive playoff performance and still in his prime at 29 years old.

He will look to build on that with the same team following this decision.