Canadian Chris Boucher lands contract with Raptors
2-way deal allows 25-year-old to play for NBA team and its G League affiliate
Canada's Chris Boucher has secured one of the Toronto Raptors' two-way contracts.
The 25-year-old forward from Montreal had nine points, two rebounds and four blocks in 19 minutes of action over four pre-season games with the Raptors. In Toronto's 118-91 win over Brooklyn on Wednesday in Montreal, Boucher came off the bench to a standing ovation with six minutes to go, connecting on a pair of three-pointers.
The battle for the Raptors' second two-way contract— Toronto already had Jordan Loyd in the first one — had been one of the biggest stories during camp. Introduced a year ago, NBA teams are allowed to carry two additional players under two-way contracts, allowing them to play for both the NBA team, and its G League affiliate — in Toronto's case Raptors 905.
The Raptors also announced later Friday that they signed guard-forward Malcolm Miller.
The six-foot-seven Miller appeared in 15 games last season with the Raptors, averaging 2.5 points in just over eight minutes of court time. In 34 games with Raptors 905, he posted averages of 12.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 27.9 minutes.
The six-foot-10 Boucher spent last season as a two-way player with Golden State. He appeared in one game with the Warriors and averaged 11.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 22.2 minutes in 20 games with Santa Cruz, their G League affiliate.
Boucher played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks, earning Pac-12 all-defensive Team honours. His college career was cut short when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the conference semifinals. He went undrafted a couple of months later.
Boucher beat out Deng Adel and Eric Moreland for the two-way spot. They were both waived by Toronto on Friday along with guards Kyle Collinsworth and Kay Felder.
The Raptors open the regular season Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers.