It looks like Chris Boucher’s season is over. A week ago, in the last seconds of the fourth quarter against the Portland
Trail Blazers, the Toronto Raptors forward tore his MCL. Although a specific comeback date for Boucher has not
been announced, it appears that he will not be returning this year. “I’m not sure, but it will take six to eight weeks,”
Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković said to media on Saturday after practice. There are slightly over four weeks left
in the Raptors’ season.
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Boucher played in just 50 of Toronto’s first 64 games, being in and out of the lineup for the majority of the campaign.
With just 6.4 points per game, his minutes per game dropped to just 14.1, which is the lowest since his sophomore
season. Over the course of the year, it became evident that Boucher didn’t align with Toronto’s long-term goals. At
the beginning of the season, Jalen McDaniels surged ahead of him in the rotation, and he was left off the field when
Toronto decided to rebuild.
Following their inability to locate a trade partner for the 6-foot-9 forward by the trade deadline, Toronto is expected
to attempt to let go of Boucher this offseason. It’s possible that his $10.8 million deal, which expires next season,
makes him more attractive, but the Raptors shouldn’t expect much in return.
Boucher will have finished his career with 3,110 points, the most for a player off the bench in Raptors history, if this
is the end for him. He will be remembered as the final survivor of the Raptors championship team from 2018–19.
