Scottie Barnes Fact Surfaces After Raptors Lose NBA Free Agent to Celtics

Scottie Barnes Fact Surfaces After Raptors Lose NBA Free Agent to Celtics originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Toronto Raptors lost their longest-tenured player on Tuesday. ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed that center Chris Boucher has signed a veteran's minimum deal with the Raptors' division rival, the Boston Celtics.

After starting his career with the Golden State Warriors for one year (where he coincidentally won a title in 2018), Boucher played for the Raptors from 2018 to 2025, winning another title in his first season with the team in 2019.

Boucher worked his way up in the Raptors' rotation over the seven years he played for them. While not much of a factor during their title run, Boucher put up his career-best numbers with the Raptors during the 2020-21 season, where he averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 0.6 steals per game while shooting 51.4% from the field and 38.3% from three, all of which were career-highs.

Boucher was the longest-tenured Raptor and the last remaining member of the Raptors' championship team in 2019. Now that he is gone, TSN Sports' Josh Lewenberg revealed what his departure means for Scottie Barnes.

"Good for Chris," Lewenberg wrote. "A guaranteed deal and a great landing spot on a depleted Celtics team that's going to need his size, shooting and experience. The last remaining piece of Toronto's 2019 championship team has officially moved on. Scottie Barnes is now the longest tenured Raptor."

Good for Chris. A guaranteed deal and a great landing spot on a depleted Celtics team that's going to need his size, shooting and experience.

The last remaining piece of Toronto's 2019 championship team has officially moved on. Scottie Barnes is now the longest tenured Raptor. https://t.co/V3aSltm7sM

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) August 5, 2025

The Raptors drafted Barnes as the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Since being drafted by Toronto, Barnes has won Rookie of the Year in 2022 and made the All-Star team in 2024 over the last four years.

Though he is currently the longest-tenured Raptor, he is by no means the longest-tenured veteran on the team. For example, both Brandon Ingram and Jakob Poeltl have been in the NBA since 2016. In fact, Poeltl technically has four and a half seasons under his belt overall as a Raptor compared to Barnes' four.

Poetl played for the Raptors from 2016 to 2018 before being included in the Kawhi Leonard deal. After being re-acquired mid-season in 2023, he technically has spent more time in Toronto than Barnes has.

Neither Ingram nor Poeltl is the longest-tenured NBA player overall on the roster. Toronto re-signed Garrett Temple, who is 39 years old and has been in the NBA since 2010. By re-signing with Toronto, he is set to play his third consecutive season with the team, the first time he has played for the same team for three straight seasons since his days with the Washington Wizards from 2012 to 2016.

Related: NBA Teams Facing Decision After Ex-Raptors Player Announces Comeback Attempt

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.