Toronto Raptors Opting To Keep Canadian National?

According to NBA Insider Jake Fischer, Chris Boucher could remain with the Toronto Raptors for the rest of the season. The Raptors could not trade the Canadian national before the trade deadline. Fisher said that the Raptors have yet to discuss a “buyout,” even though he would likely draw interest from other teams.

Toronto Raptors Opting To Keep The Canadian Big?

Boucher, who grew up in Montreal, reportedly drew interest from the New York Knicks,  Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers before the trade deadline. But since the Raptors didn’t pull the trigger, he was expected to possibly be a “buyout candidate” as he is on an expiring deal.

Boucher took a long road to the NBA but has carved out a nice career. The 6-9 athletic big has spent almost his entire NBA career with the Raptors. He has one of his best seasons, averaging 10.2 points on 49.1% shooting and 4.4 rebounds.

Boucher is an outstanding rebounder and has improved his finishing at the rim over the last few seasons. The 32-year-old is not a traditional big and has shown the ability to be a floor spacer. He is making 39.5% of his shots off the catch and 1.4 threes a game at 365.% clip, including 38.5% from the corner.

However, Boucher is at his best when on the move. He contributes a few points off cuts, putbacks, and transitions. Defensively, Boucher is a rim protector.

At times, Boucher does get pushed around by bigger forwards and centers in the post, but in general, he holds his own. He is also pretty active contesting shots and can defend on the perimeter, though he has struggled to do the latter over the last few seasons.

Why Is Chris Boucher Still On The Raptors?

That is a good question. A better one is why Toronto hasn’t approached him about a potential buyout. That doesn’t mean he would be willing to do that. Here is the thing: the Raptors can sneak into the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament.

Injuries have hampered Toronto throughout the season. The Raptors have the fifth-worst record in the league as the NBA heads to the all-star break at 17-38. However, the Raptors have played better of late, going 10-12 since the calendar turned to 2025, and they are just five games behind 10th-place Chicago.

Jakob Poeltl, who has missed the last five games, and Brandon Ingram may be available after the all-star break. Even more promising news for the Raptors is that they have the easiest remaining schedule per Tankathon, which is not even close. However, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet recently reported that Raptors’ coach Darko Rajakovic isn’t sure that Ingram will make his debut for the team this season.

“Darko says they’re going to reevaluate Ingram in 2-week intervals to see how he’s progressing, Murphy tweeted. “Not even sure” if he’ll play in games or not this year.”

As mentioned above, Boucher has been outstanding this season. Now that Kelly Olynyk is in New Orleans, he is also one of the Raptors’ top options off the bench.

Toronto Raptors Salary Cap Implications

There could also be a couple of other reasons for not releasing Boucher. The Raptors have an open roster spot, but the team is likely to waive P.J. Tucker, whom they received as part of the Jimmy Butler trade.

If Tucker does get bought out, the Raptors would need to add a player, as doing so would put them below the NBA’s 13-minimum player requirement. Then, doing the same with Boucher may not be financially feasible.

Toronto is $1.35 million below the NBA tax. The Raptors already have over $3 million in dead cap, and buying out Tucker would add another $11.539 million to the total. So, while the Raptors will likely save some cash by waiving Tucker, their salary cap situation would remain the same.

Toronto would have 14 days to fill Tucker’s roster spot when he gets waived. The Raptors could sign players to 10-day contracts for the remainder of the season or sign a youngster to a remainder-of-the-season deal. But that wouldn’t help the Raptors, not that that is potentially a goal for the Raptors.

“I think we had identified this year’s draft as particularly strong… the lottery balls and lottery Gods will determine where we end up,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said after the trade deadline.

Does Raptors Releasing Tucker Have Anything To Do With Boucher?

So, how does this affect Boucher? I’m not sure if it would.

If Toronto staggered the buyouts appropriately, the Raptors may be able to remain under the luxury tax while fulfilling the NBA’s roster requirements. However, Tucker and Boucher would have to agree to the time of the release.  To be eligible for the playoffs, free agents must sign with that team by March 1.

Therefore, it would not benefit Boucher to agree to a “buyout” if he isn’t guaranteed to join a playoff team by March 1. Boucher is making $10.8 million this season. It is unknown whether Boucher wants to leave the Raptors, anyway.

Could Boucher Return To the Raptors Next Season?

It is possible that Toronto has decided not to “buy out” Boucher because they would like to have him on the roster next season. The Raptors’ 2025-26 roster projects to be relatively similar to this season unless they trade RJ Barrett, which is a possibility, Fischer said in another article

“Pinpointing Barrett’s standing is trickier. The Canadian has two more seasons left on his current contract after this one at $27.7 million in 2025-26 and then $29.6 million in 2026-27. And before that final year arrives, Toronto will almost certainly be holding contract extension talks with Gradey Dick, who the Raptors have held in as high regard as anyone in the building who doesn’t have BARNES stitched into the back of his jersey. Don’t forget that the Raptors also drafted Ja’Kobe Walter, another scoring guard, with the No. 19 pick last June. All of that makes Barrett someone who has to be monitored as a potential trade candidate once the offseason arrives.”

But if Boucher does return and the Raptors don’t trade Barrett, he would likely have to take a huge salary cut. Toronto currently has 11 players under contract for next season with a cap hit of over $177 million. That would mean that the Raptors would be only $24 million from the league’s second apron with them having to sign three players

So, theoretically, re-signing Boucher is possible without trading Barrett. The Raptors own their first-round selection in 2025.