Would Boucher be in the NBA if the Raptors didn't sign him?

[dagger]

The block function should really hide threads as well as posts.

I wish it hid everything and didn't send notifications too lol.

That said, I think the argument being made is that if he wasn't picked up by us after he was waived by GS, would he still be in the league. It's debatable at least, but if the question is "Would he still be in the NBA after his first contract with the Raptors", then yeah, it's a pretty dumb question lol.

He's nothing special, but he's also no Jalen McDaniels.

Jalen will be remembered as fondly around here as Hedo.

[Scase]

The block function should really hide threads as well as posts.

I wish it hid everything and didn't send notifications too lol.

That said, I think the argument being made is that if he wasn't picked up by us after he was waived by GS, would he still be in the league. It's debatable at least, but if the question is "Would he still be in the NBA after his first contract with the Raptors", then yeah, it's a pretty dumb question lol.

He's nothing special, but he's also no Jalen McDaniels.

Jalen will be remembered as fondly around here as Hedo.

I would say way less, at least Hedo had some banger memories like "Ball" lol

[PushDaRock]

I get the frustration because he makes glaring mistakes and is not a good decision maker out there but he's still an effective player because of the strengths he does have. He's a career 60% TS and +3.1 in on court per 100 and +3.3 in on/off per 100. It probably surprises people but his teams are better when he's on the floor than off it.

His decision making has not improved, he is pretty much the same player he was 5 years ago. It's hard to accomplish this, just not get better at all at anything..... I wonder what his summers are like since he started making good money.

Some players just can't process the game well no matter how much time they put into it, I think he is likely one of those players.

[ConSarnit]

He's a perfectly fine bench big. Maybe overpaid by a couple mil but I think most teams would be happy to have him at around the taxpayer MLE (~$6m).

[PushDaRock]

I think he deserves some credit for how he handled last season as well. You didn't hear him complain when he was out of the rotation and he played his way back in.

I would have to see the data, but those Barnes, Mogbo and Boucher lineups looked very interesting out on the court, so much length and they played together all summer, so there was chemistry as well.

[YogurtProducer]

I think he deserves some credit for how he handled last season as well. You didn't hear him complain when he was out of the rotation and he played his way back in.

I would have to see the data, but those Barnes, Mogbo and Boucher lineups looked very interesting out on the court, so much length and they played together all summer, so there was chemistry as well.

14 minutes, 103ORTG 66DRTG

SO yeah - they dominated their minutes togetehr

[Ell Curry]

coveted skill set of 3pt shooter and blocking, some nba team would have him at the end of the bench in the worst case scenario. He isnt going to play in a playoff series due to his low bbiq, but he is a good regular season player.

Yeah, he's an average 3pt shooter for his position of PF, he has some energy, you don't want him dribbling or passing except the occasional drive after a bad closeout or defensive mistake/a gap opens up. Basically a textbook backup 4 in the modern NBA.

There are teams like Sacramento, Phoenix, Denver, Philly and Chicago who have either spent all their money on starter and maybe 1-2 good perimeter bench guys (Denver, Philly, Phoenix) or just done a bad job finding decent bench players (Sacramento, though you could put them in the other group just as easily really, but Chicago for sure) that Boucher is definitely a rotation guy on.

There are also teams he would be the 11th or 12th guy on and not really crack the rotation. It seems like there are a ton of good players in the 2025 and 2026 drafts, so maybe he's only got say 2 years left (though that's about right for him to be out of the league at 33 or so, since he's so skinny and can't dribble and won't pass). Maybe he retires, maybe his age 34 and 35 seasons are in Europe or Asia or something.

[Chandan]

Modern day keon clark

[sidsid]

One of the few players on the team that fits better under playing Nurse ball. His flaws are mainly around decision making. Some Ibaka like qualities there. When he does get the ball he knows he has to do something quickly, but his instincts are 75% shoot, 20% drive and 5% pass. On top of that, there's no rhyme or reason for which option he'll choose.

That works fine in a no-passing, crash the boards type of Nurse non-offense. But when you're running an actual NBA offense, that will stand out. He'd be fine on the Knicks.

[artsncrafts]

He would be in the NBA but wouldnt have the same leash/ salary as with the Raps.

[JN]

If we do a buyout after the trade deadline, some playoff team would give him a min ontract as a bench player. He is a valid NBA bench player -- not worth $12M/annum, but certainly still an NBA player.

[ForeverTFC]

If we do a buyout after the trade deadline, some playoff team would give him a min ontract as a bench player. He is a valid NBA bench player -- not worth $12M/annum, but certainly still an NBA player.

I'm positive a team would give you at least 1-2 seconds for Boucher at his current salary given he is expiring. The question really is what are the contracts coming back to us and is holding those contracts on our cap sheet worth the return? If it's just a bunch of expiring salary to match, I'm sure the FO will trade him for the 2nds by the deadline. If the contracts coming back have term, not sure it's quite worth it.

[JN]

If we do a buyout after the trade deadline, some playoff team would give him a min ontract as a bench player. He is a valid NBA bench player -- not worth $12M/annum, but certainly still an NBA player.

I'm positive a team would give you at least 1-2 seconds for Boucher at his current salary given he is expiring. The question really is what are the contracts coming back to us and is holding those contracts on our cap sheet worth the return? If it's just a bunch of expiring salary to match, I'm sure the FO will trade him for the 2nds by the deadline. If the contracts coming back have term, not sure it's quite worth it.

I was answering the question in the context of the OP's question -- would he be in the NBA if not here?. So the easiest way to answer that would be if he was bought out today, would some team sign him to the min. And the answer to that is obviously yes.

Regarding his trade value, I generally agree with your take. He could get something. Eating cap space next year for a few seconds might not make sense. Might be more valuable to have that room in the offseason for trades, like the Davion deal.

it is not easy though to find matching expirings of lower tier players, once you get in that $12< range -- and the new CBA rules probably make it a bit harder. But maybe it will arise - perhaps some expiring player goes out for the year with an injury making him an easy move. So I don't discount the possibility.