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MONTREAL – When Chris Boucher played his first NBA pre-season game in his hometown in 2018, he was a raw talent trying to crack the Toronto Raptors roster.

Six years later, the 31-year-old is back in Montreal as the longest-serving Raptors — and the only player left from the 2019 championship team.

“It’s been crazy. It’s been crazy,” said Boucher, reflecting on his journey as the Raptors opened training camp at the Université du Québec à Montréal on Tuesday.

“People thought I’d probably only do it for a year or two, but now it’s been six or seven years, and I’ve been here longer than anyone else on that team ,” he added to a pack of French-Canadian reporters there to greet the homegrown talent.

Toronto’s camp – which includes an open practice at McGill University on Friday night – runs through Sunday’s Raptors pre-season game against the Washington Wizards at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

Although Boucher has reached veteran status, he is still in play for his next contract.

Boucher is entering the final year of his contract after watching his role on the Raptors diminish last season, but says he is not worried following a constructive off-season in which he worked’ n close with the head coach Darko Rajaković.

“I’m not worried. I’ve done a lot of work,” Boucher said. “I’ve spoken to the coach, I’ve spoken to the GM, we’ve spent a lot of time finding out what I can do.

“The team is young, and I’ve put myself in a good position to change what happened last year.”

As he prepares to play in front of friends and family this week, Boucher is focused on having a solid camp after averaging 6.4 points and 14.1 minutes last season – his lowest numbers in years. He also played just 50 games due to a knee injury in March.

Over the off-season, Boucher said he trained with Rajaković on his play and understanding of the game.

They also worked on improving his mindset and “trying to get me to a better place,” and the head coach took note.

“We had amazing and heart-to-heart conversations this summer, and I was very impressed by Chris, what he accomplished,” said Rajaković. “He worked on his body, he got stronger, he added a couple of pounds of muscle, he was disciplined, he got in the gym, he did a lot of work.

“That gives me a lot of confidence that he’s ready for the next step, that he’s ready to grow and that he’s ready to fit in with our team.”

Rajaković said the season will determine Boucher’s role and minutes, but he expects the Canadian to help younger players with his leadership in crashing the boards and playing disruptive defense when he’s on the floor.

“I want all 15 men to put me in a very difficult position to make decisions about who is going to be playing,” said Rajaković. “Chris is doing an amazing job, and I can see him doing a very important job for our team this year.”

Boucher may be in his 30s, but he likes to remind people that he picked up the game much later than most.

“There are a lot of people who have been playing since they were eight or nine years old, but I started when I was 20,” said Boucher, who went undrafted in the NBA.

DAVION PROTECTION

Raptors president Masai Ujiri said Monday that the Raptors’ defense, which was among the worst in the league last season, “wasn’t something we’re proud of.”

Offseason acquisition Davion Mitchell wants to be part of the answer.

“That’s the reason I’m in this league,” said the point guard. “Playing defense, putting pressure on the ball, disrupting people offensively … that’s why I’m here.”

The 26-year-old Mitchell, the ninth overall draft pick in 2021, averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 assists with the Sacramento Kings last season, but has a reputation for suffocating on-ball defense.

“He has a good track record of doing that at a high, high level. My conversations with Davion go even further,” Rajaković said. “He needs to be better with the ball … going in the right places, not falling asleep for half a second, just as disruptive off the ball as he is on the ball.”

BARNES ITS EXCEPTIONAL

The Raptors excused star forward Scottie Barnes from the start of training camp due to personal reasons. Barnes did not travel with the team to Montreal, but the Raptors said he was expected to join the team later in the week.

Barnes, 23, averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists in his third NBA campaign last season and earned his first all-star selection.

Rajaković said he expects the team’s centerpiece to become familiar in no time once he is back.

“Scottie spent a lot of time around the team this year, we have communication every day,” said Rajaković. “He’s a really smart player, so he’s going to be able to pick that up very quickly.”

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on October 1, 2024.