Chris Boucher’s season has likely come to an end.
The Toronto Raptors forward suffered a MCL tear a week ago during the final seconds of the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers. There hadn’t been an official timeline for Boucher’s return, but it sounds like the 31-year-old won’t be back this year.
“It’s going to take, I’m not sure, anywhere between six to eight weeks,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković told reporters Saturday following practice.
The Raptors have just over four weeks remaining this season.
Boucher was in and out of the rotation for most of the season, appearing in just 50 of Toronto’s first 64 games. His minutes per game dipped to just 14.1 with just 6.4 points per game, the lowest number since his sophomore season.
It became clear throughout the year that Boucher didn’t fit with Toronto’s long-term vision. He was jumped in the rotation by Jalen McDaniels to start the year and found himself stuck on the bench when Toronto pivoted toward a rebuild.
Toronto will likely look to move on from Boucher this offseason after failing to find a trade partner for the 6-foot-9 forward ahead of the trade deadline. It’s possible he’s more valuable as an expiring $10.8 million contract next season, but the Raptors can’t be expected to receive much in return.
If this is the end for Boucher, he’ll finish his Raptors career with 3,110 points, the most in franchise history for a player off the bench. He’ll go down as the last remaining member of the 2018-19 Raptors championship squad.
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