NBA Rumors: Former Golden State Warrior Gets A Break With Raptors

Things are looking up for Chris Boucher with the Toronto Raptors. Chris Boucher #25 of the Oregon Ducks greets teammates during a timeout in the championship game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Arena on March 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Boucher was injured in a semifinal game against the UCLA Bruins. Arizona won the championship 83-80. Getty Images/Ethan Miller

With the NBA trade deadline done and over with, all eyes are now on buyout candidates and players available in the free agent market. Despite the number of high profile names, a former Golden State Warrior named Chris Boucher is worth mentioning.

The 26-year-old had a two-way contract with the Warriors last season before getting waived on June 22, 2018. He would join the Raptors with a two-way deal a month later and that same contract has now been transformed to a full NBA contract, NBC reported. He has appeared in 16 games for Toronto this season.

Boucher had quite a ride so far, spending the majority of the first five months playing for Raptors 905 in the G-League, NBA.com reported. The 6-foot-10 center produced impressive numbers and was one of the dominant forces in the league. Boucher averaged 27.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.2 blocks in 23 games. He also owned an impressive 51-percent field goal shooting clip and also shot 31-percent from beyond the arc.

Those numbers were a far cry from what he showed when he suited up for the Santa Cruz Warriors last season. He averaged 1.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.

In the NBA, Boucher's numbers may not be as glaring, but he has been helpful coming off the bench. As of this writing, he is averaging only 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds. His best game was against the Orlando Magic in late December where he dropped 9 points.

Boucher thus becomes the second former Golden State Warriors to join the Raptors. The other one is Patrick McCaw, who signed with Toronto on Jan. 10. The 23-year-old bolted the Dubs back in October, a reason why the Warriors have an open roster spot at the moment. They have yet to fill in that void.

As far as Boucher is concerned, it remains to be seen if head coach Nick Nurse can get the 26-year-old to churn out the same numbers he did while playing in the G-League. He will be the second back-up center behind Marc Gasol, a key acquisition by Toronto from the Memphis Grizzlies at the NBA trade deadline.

The Raptors dealt Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles and a 2024 second-round pick in exchange for Gasol as Toronto tries to toughen up for the postseason wars.

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