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Raptors lock up key free agents Chris Boucher, Thaddeus Young

Raptors lock up key free agents Chris Boucher, Thaddeus Young

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The Toronto Raptors wasted little time taking care of their own in free agency on Monday.

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Within the first half hour of the 6 p.m. official start to the silly season, both forward/centre Chris Boucher and veteran forward Thaddeus Young had put pen to paper declaring their intention to return.

Boucher, the fan favourite off the Raptors bench all season and with good reason considering the impact he had, will sign a three-year $35.25-million deal to remain in his home and native land.

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The Montreal-raised big man had two seasons in one a year ago struggling out of the gate before hitting rock bottom in a tough loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Boxing Day.

With all of the starters out with COVID or as close contact to someone who did have It or simply injured, it was Boucher, some familiar bench teammates and a slew of emergency arrivals that took the court that night.

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Boucher points to that night in which he had 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting and five turnovers as the wake-up call his season needed.

From that point on it was a different Boucher, a Boucher fully bought into his role as a rim protector and rebounder and opportunistic cutter on the offensive end that played out the year and put himself in line for the three-year vote of confidence he received Thursday.

Young arrived at the trade deadline in a deal that saw the Raptors unload the contract of Goran Dragic while swapping the No. 20 pick for the No. 33 that eventually landed Toronto big man Christian Koloko.

Young filled an immediate in the locker room where his veteran savvy was a welcome addition for a lot of the younger Raptors while on the court, he found a niche with that second unit teaming up with Boucher and some of the younger Raptors to provide a little much-needed depth to a team that was relying too much on its starters alone.

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Young will sign a two-year deal worth $16 million according to reports.

It was a fine start to the free agent season for the Raptors and they are probably not done with a $10.5 million mid-level exception that will allow them to bolster their bench.

Of course, that might be very small potatoes if the Raptors braintrust believes it can make a run at acquiring Kevin Durant.

The top-5 NBA talent shocked the basketball universe Thursday when he requested a trade from Brooklyn where it was just considered a done deal that he and Kyrie Irving (after Irving couldn’t find a suitable landing spot elsewhere) would finally see what they could do with Ben Simmons alongside.

But Durant has always been his own man and he proved it again Thursday with that trade request.

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Toronto, blessed with young talent including reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes could be a viable trading partner, but the question is would the Raptors actually be a contender with Durant after giving up the cache of talent it would take to acquire him.

The answer to that question will come from the Raptors braintrust in the coming days.

NOTABLE SIGNINGS

  • The Milwaukee Bucks have lured Aussie sharpshooter Joe Ingles to Wisconsin
  • As expected Bradley Beal will remain in Washington where he signed a super-max deal
  • Jalen Brunson leaves Dallas to join the Knicks
  • Anfernee Simons agrees to a four-year deal to remain in Portland
  • Bobby Portis signs a four-year extension to remain with Milwaukee
  • Mo Bamba, who appeared to be done in Orlando, re-signed for two years with the Magic
  • P.J. Tucker has reportedly signed on in Philadelphia for three years leaving the Heat
  • Canadian Lu Dort will finally be paid what he is worth signing a five-year deal with OKC for a reported $87.5 million.

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