Atlanta Hawks: Trade Target – Chris Boucher (TOR)
The Atlanta Hawks have some problems to fix offensively in terms of their pace of play, but they also seem to have some problems in their frontcourt right now. John Collins and Clint Capela are great players in their own rights, but the Hawks currently do not have much depth behind either of them.
Danilo Gallinari has struggled to begin the season off-the-bench and with Onyeka Okongwu out until sometime in February due to offseason shoulder surgery, the Atlanta Hawks seem to need another frontcourt talent that can wear many different hats for them.
Maybe the Atlanta Hawks will hold off on making a trade until closer to the trade deadline, especially with Cam Reddish being a talked-about trade target for teams around the league, but Chris Boucher is definitely a player they should target this season.
The Raptors’ big man is coming off a great year in which he averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and shot 51.4% from the floor, 38.3% from three-point range, but the Raptors have not used him as much this season.
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Precious Achiuwa, Khem Birch, and rookie Scottie Barnes have dominated the minutes in the frontcourt for Toronto and with Pascal Siakam now back, Boucher’s role for this team has become even smaller. They love his production and energy he can bring off the bench, but Chris Boucher is in the final year of his contract.
Being 28-years-old and set to see a raise from his previous contract, Boucher is a player the Toronto Raptors likely will not want to spend a lot of money to retain, especially since they just paid Khem Birch and OG Anunoby recently.
Trying to find immediate/future value for him while they can before his contract expires is something the Raptors will look to do, which is why Atlanta could ultimately land Chris Boucher in a trade. From rebounding to blocking shots to being a threat to score in pick-and-roll sets, Boucher would fit in really well next to Capela and Collins in the Atlanta Hawks’ frontcourt.
Ultimately though, like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Hawks do not necessarily need to make a move. This is a team that knows they are good enough to reach the conference finals and coming off a year in which they were two wins away from making it to the NBA Finals, Atlanta knows they can be better than they have been.
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Early season struggles do not necessarily reflect a team’s chances to be great, which is why the Atlanta Hawks just need to begin going back to what made them a great team last season. Trae Young and this group will figure this out, which is why they may not look to invest in a guy like Boucher after all.
