Report: Raptors Sign Baynes, Boucher, Lose Marc Gasol

The Toronto Raptors have begun to shore up their frontcourt holes, inking former Phoenix Suns centre Aron Baynes to a two-year, $14.3 million deal, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports. The deal came just minutes before Toronto reportedly agreed to re-sign Chris Boucher to a two-year, $13.5 million deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

The Raptors’ frontcourt was entering dire straights Sunday night when Marc Gasol reportedly agreed to a two-year deal to join the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported. Gasol became the latest Raptors centre to depart the team, heading to L.A. where fellow former Raptor Serge Ibaka reportedly agreed to sign a two-year deal with the L.A. Clippers late Saturday night.

The soon-to-be 34-year-old Baynes is coming off a career year with the Suns. He averaged a career-high 11.5 points on 48% shooting to go with 5.6 rebounds while starting 28 of 42 games. The biggest improvement in his game came behind the arc where he shot 35% on a career-high four attempts per game.

Boucher’s signing adds much-needed centre depth for Toronto. He too is coming off a career year in which he averaged 6.6 points and 4.5 points in 62 games for Toronto.

While a frontcourt of Baynes and Boucher was certainly not the Raptors preferred choice heading into the offseason, the team was able to ink the two bigs on short-term deals that should leave flexibility for the team next summer. The second year of Boucher’s deal is reportedly non-guaranteed, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic.

The deals should leave the Raptors about $6 million below the luxury tax with roster spots still to be filled.