With the regular season around the corner and the core of the squad set, the Toronto Raptors announced a pair of moves Friday that deal with the lower end of the roster.
The team exercised its two-way player conversion option on forward Chris Boucher and also confirmed that four other players have been waived.
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Boucher, a Montreal native who was previously on the books of the Golden State Warriors, earned his spot in rookie coach Nick Nurse's squad after recording nine points, two rebounds and four blocks in 19 total minutes of preseason action with the club. Notably, he went 3-for-7 from behind the 3-point line.
Montreal’s own Chris Boucher dials it up at the Bell Centre. pic.twitter.com/IHbQyVvCfL
— Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) October 11, 2018
The 25-year-old played in the NBA Summer League with the Raptors, earning an invite to preseason training camp. From there it was all up to Boucher, who went undrafted after tearing his ACL during his final season with the NCAA's Oregon Ducks, to win a spot on the lone NBA team in his home country.
"I been thinking (I could play in this league) for a long time," Boucher told NBA.com ahead of Toronto's preseason camp. "When I got hurt it actually slowed me down but I've always felt like I had a place in the NBA.
"I just needed the opportunity and just put the hard work with it ... I feel like if I keep doing those two things together my chances to make it and to stay in the league for a while are pretty huge for me."
Boucher is expected to split his time between the Raptors and their G-League affiliate, Raptors 905.
Four players waived
In a separate announcement, the Raptors confirmed that forward forward Deng Adel, guards Kyle Collinsworth and Kay Felder and centre Eric Moreland have been waived.
Felder led the foursome with 15 points over three preseason games, but the 23-year-old guard could not convert his scoring into a contract.