Top 5 undrafted players in the NBA, No.3: Chris Boucher, Toronto Raptors
Chris Boucher, not only No. 3 on my list for best-underrated players but also a candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player. I felt like a bad NBA fan after the emergence of Chris Boucher just because I’ve not seen a lot of him. I figured that once Toronto let Serge Ibaka sign a two-year deal with the Clippers, that the Raptors were going to be lacking at the power forward/center position.
Currently, Boucher is giving them almost identical numbers to Ibaka while being more efficient from the 3-point line, younger, and cheaper as well.
Defensively, there are not many undrafted players that are giving their respective teams two blocks a night. That’s 4th in the league and 3rd in the Eastern Conference behind Clint Capela (2.4), and Myles Turner (3.6).
So the Raptors get a big who can stretch the floor, protect the rim, and play defense? Sounds like a 1st round draft pick if he was entering the draft this season. The jury is still out on whether Boucher will keep up his production as the Toronto Raptors look to be semi rebuilding.
I see the Raptors trading away Kyle Lowry and look to build around a younger core of Vanvleet, Siakam, and Boucher.