Targets that won’t break the bank No. 1: Chris Boucher
One of the Bulls’ biggest issues has been in the paint where they rank 26th in opponent points per game. Chris Boucher is having a breakout season for the Toronto Tampa Raptors who just so happen to rank second in opponent PITP. Boucher’s leap (from 6.6 PPG and 4.5 RPG to 14.1 PPG and 6.3 RPG) is reminiscent of teammate Pascal Siakam’s a couple of years ago.
It might be even more impressive, though.
Siakam’s jump in playing time came naturally with his installment into the starting lineup regularly in the 2018-19 season; going from about 20 minutes per game to 31. Boucher has started just three contests while seeing his playing time hover mostly in the 20’s.
He’s putting up 21.2/9.5/2.9 per-36 (not the best stat but useful for illustration) which would be better than not only Siakam but would put him in MVP conversations.
Obviously, some of that could come down with him starting but the early results are promising.
That catch is getting him out of Toronto. He’d only cost a little over $7 million next season and Toronto will undoubtedly be looking to reclaim their “contender” status. There’s also this critique of Boucher from his own head coach:
"“It’s a tricky spot we’re in because (Boucher) looks great on offense,” Nurse said this past week. “Even the blocked shots look great. But we’re giving up a lot of things at the other end…”"
This would make Boucher more of an addition than a replacement for either Markkanen or Carter. He’s more defensive than the former with his shot-blocking ability while shooting over 43 percent from deep on nearly four attempts per game; making him more offensively viable than Carter.
The Bulls should give Toronto a call and see what, if anything, would allow them to pry the native Canadian away.