The murky Chris Boucher saga in Toronto has finally reached its conclusion, and unfortunately, it ends with Numere Vingt-Cinq departing for the Boston Celtics.
ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania broke the news earlier this afternoon on X, noting that the 32-year-old sharpshooting veteran inked a one-year, $3.3 million deal with the 2023-24 champs. He also said Boucher "... is expected to have a significant role in the frontcourt."
Longtime Raptors vet Chris Boucher joins Boston Celtics in free agency
This news isn't a major surprise to me, and I don’t think many Raptors fans are shocked to see Boucher heading to another team. Toronto has seemed ready to move on from him for a while, and with the roster filling up quickly and no rush to lock him into a new deal, it was clear they weren’t interested in a reunion.
Without a doubt, as the Raptors embarked on a wild stretch in the 2020s, Chris Boucher grew to become one of my favorite players to watch on the entire team.
He doesn't do anything to blow you out of the water, nor is he the most flashy to watch, but it's his constant hustle and willingness to tackle any role head-on that sold me on his character. I don't think anyone was expecting Boucher to become an All-Star overnight after the 2019 title run, but he exemplified what it means to be a consummate professional, even when the team kind of did him dirty on numerous occasions.
While it hurts to see Boucher leaving Toronto, I'm kind of glad to see he's joining the Celtics, considering they will go into the 2025-26 season with a bit of a hazy outlook — especially since they'll be without superstar Jayson Tatum and are navigating the post-Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis trades. In fact, the Celtics also traded forward Georges Niang earlier today, putting Boucher in an even more certain position to take on a pivotal role next year (unless they make additional moves).
Boucher isn't exactly a certified NBA center in the traditional sense, but I can definitely see the Celtics using him in that capacity. (Neemias Queta and Luka Garza are far from needle-movers at the five spot.) Alternatively, he could fill the wide gap left by Tatum at the power forward position.
Boucher was the final remnant of the historic 2019 championship team. With the news of his exit, along with the sad (but expected) departure of Masai Ujiri this summer, Raptors fans can now consider a chapter in franchise history officially closed.