The real buzz after Raptors’ comeback in Charlotte? Who will be here after today’s trade deadline?
Has Chris Boucher played, or not played, his last game with the Raptors? He was stuck to the bench for the third time in four games.
They represent the outer margins of the Raptors roster: the team’s longest serving member in Chris Boucher, and Bruce Brown, whose tenure with the franchise is all of 21 days.
And now with the NBA trade deadline (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET) very much on the horizon, the question is whether either of them — and perhaps some others — wear a Toronto uniform again.
The two were in their now usual spots on Wednesday with Boucher basically nailed to the bench and Brown central to the current rotation as the Raptors recovered from a wretched three quarters to beat the Charlotte Hornets 123-117 Wednesday night
They represent the outer margins of the Raptors roster: the team’s longest serving member in Chris Boucher, and Bruce Brown, whose tenure with the franchise is all of 21 days.
And now with the NBA trade deadline (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET) very much on the horizon, the question is whether either of them — and perhaps some others — wear a Toronto uniform again.
The two were in their now usual spots on Wednesday with Boucher basically nailed to the bench and Brown central to the current rotation as the Raptors recovered from a wretched three quarters to beat the Charlotte Hornets 123-117 Wednesday night.
The challenge now is for team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster to decide what to do on the fringes of their roster with the season slipping away and the future the most important thing.
The possibilities are obvious and have been well documented. Can they get anything of substance for Boucher, with a year and about $11 million (U.S.) left on his contract, or Brown, who has a team option for about $23 million next season, or even Gary Trent Jr., who becomes a free agent in July?
Those are the cards management has to play after blowing up the team by trading away the most consistent scorer in Pascal Siakam and one of the league’s best defenders in OG Anunoby.
