The Los Angeles Lakers came away as the winner of the 2025 NBA trade deadline by a wide margin, somehow managing to pull off the most shocking trade in league history when they dealt a package centered around Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Dončić early Sunday morning.

Even after their more recent acquisition of center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets to close out their deadline dealings early Thursday morning, their general manager Rob Pelinka may be looking to add even more talent to his reconstructed roster through the buyout market.

In fact, recent reports have indicated that a perfect candidate could be available if he comes to a buyout agreement with the Toronto Raptors.

“Chris Boucher is still playing decent minutes on the Raptors while making $10.8 million in the final year of his contract,” Fadeaway World’s Aaditya Krishnamurthy wrote Friday morning.

“According to the league’s apron rules, he is just about eligible to sign for the Lakers should he and the Raptors agree to a buyout in the coming days. But that is a big if.”

“The Lakers would definitely be interested should Boucher be available. Big men of his quality are not easily available, let alone on the buyout market.”

“As such, if the Lakers are able to get their hands on him, they will do so with minimum hesitation.”

At 32 years old, the 6-foot-9 Boucher has contributed 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds on an incredible 60.4% effective field goal percentage in 43 appearances with the Raptors this season.

While his production has been fantastic, he could plausibly be bought out due to his age, which currently does not align with the Raptors’ youthful timeline. 

As an NBA champion both in 2018 and 2019 with the Golden State Warriors and more notably with Toronto, Boucher is an experienced, rangy veteran that can score from all areas of the floor as evidenced by his 37.5% accuracy from three-point range in 2024-25.

The lanky offensive threat has also shown to be a productive reserve piece due to his eighth-place finish in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2021 with the Raptors, when he averaged a career-best 13.6 points and 1.9 blocks.

If acquired by the Lakers, Boucher would be a perfect pairing with both Dončić and LeBron James.

His athleticism would help him serve as an explosive rim-runner, while he’d also provide both superstars with a great drive-and-kick option due to his 39.2% three-point shooting efficiency from the corners. 

Potentially adding a talent like Boucher could be a fantastic opportunity for the Lakers to further improve their bench rotation as they continue to solidify their rotation prior to a hopeful 2025 NBA Playoff push.

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