Montreal native Khem Birch is coming home — figuratively speaking.
First reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Birch was waived by the Orlando Magic earlier in the week and on Saturday he announced that he would be joining the Toronto Raptors after clearing.
Wow. Thank you to the @orlandomagic organization, front office, my teammates, coaches, & all the fans for an amazing 3.5years. I’m lost for words on what the city of Orlando has meant to me & my family! Beyond grateful
I’m excited for the next chapter of my career with @raptors pic.twitter.com/3XhvWex6Oy
— Khem Birch (@Khem_Birch) April 10, 2021
Birch went undrafted in 2014 after a sterling two-year college career at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He bounced around for a little bit playing in the G League then Europe before finally getting his break with the Magic in 2017, of whom he’s remained with until now.
Here’s a little more on the new Raptors big man.
Age: 28
Position: Centre
Height: Six-foot-nine | Weight: 233 pounds
Previous team: Orlando Magic
2020-21 stats: PPG: 5.3 | RPG: 5.1 | BPG: 0.6 | FG%: 45.0
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Fills a big need
It’s been a narrative repeated ad nauseam all season long: The Raptors need help at centre.
Well, with Birch, the Raptors just got it.
Undeniably, replacing the likes of Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol with Aron Baynes and Alex Len didn’t work out for the Raptors. Baynes has been a massive disappointment in all aspects of the game and Len isn’t even on the team anymore, waived in mid-January.
Birch’s arrival figures to be a big upgrade over what Baynes has been able to provide and gives the added bonus of allowing the Raptors to play the emergent Chris Boucher — who just had a monster career game where he scored 38 points and pulled down 19 rebounds — at his more natural power forward position instead of being forced to use him at centre.
This is because Birch is a centre in the truest definition of the position in that he’s a strong rebounder, a great defender and doesn’t exactly need to have the ball in his hands to make an impact on the game.
Though his per-game stats aren’t very impressive, his per-36-minutes numbers paint the picture of actually quite a productive player if given the chance. This season, Birch is averaging 9.6 points and 9.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per 36 minutes with the Magic.
Mostly stuck playing behind all-star Nikola Vucevic, Birch didn’t necessarily get the opportunity to show all he could do on the floor, but with the Raptors he likely will.
There’s a good argument to be had for Birch to step in immediately as the team’s starting centre because of how thin Toronto’s been at the five spot — he could join the Raptors as early as Saturday in New York.
It’s quite clear that Baynes isn’t a starting-level centre, and even though Boucher has enjoyed a fabulous breakout season, he isn’t a natural five man, plus the spark he provides might be better served coming off the bench to help lift a sagging Raptors second unit.
Birch looks like a natural fit to start for the Raptors and those he plays with should benefit greatly from this, particularly on the defensive end. He has Herculean-like strength and has a great nose for the ball, meaning defensive possessions that the Raptors couldn’t finish before should now be able to be cleaned up nicely.
Additionally, unlike Baynes, Birch isn’t a liability defending in the pick-and-roll. For a man as large as he is, he has remarkably quick feet that allows him to switch well and, more importantly, to hedge out and recover in time to protect the rim — with how big and strong he is, he mostly does that as opposed to leaping up and making spectacular blocks.
Given what the Raptors’ record is, there’s a chance this pickup was too little too late, but Birch is undoubtedly an improvement in a major area of need for this club.
Won’t solve all of Toronto’s problems, though
As much as Birch is an upgrade for the Raptors, he still doesn’t solve all of the team’s issues, so don’t expect his arrival to be a catch-all panacea.
The atrocious spacing issues the Raptors have run into when playing with a traditional centre still won’t be solved as Birch is absolutely no threat from the three-point line.
As bad as Baynes has been as an outside shooter this season, he’s still been at least attempting them in an effort to keep defences honest, hoisting up nearly two per game. Birch, on the other hand, has only attempted 21 total and the outside look isn’t really part of his game.
The shots that Birch will be looking to take will likely be looks in and around the basket and occasional mid-range jumpers coming off pick-and-pop action. This isn’t to say he has no offensive game to speak of, but when you consider a player like Pascal Siakam who needs space to operate and get his game off, Birch’s inability to really stretch the defence will be a challenge for Toronto’s coaching staff to figure out.
Comes at little to no risk
Of course, as big as Birch’s potential is for the Raptors, there’s still the chance he doesn’t pan out. If that ends up being the case it’s OK because the addition of Birch comes virtually risk-free.
He’s likely being signed at relatively insignificant money (according to NBA standards) and will be a free agent at the end of the season. At worse, he was an inexpensive rental to try to reach the post-season and, at-best, it gives the Raptors a nearly free look at an interesting young player to see how he might be able to fit into their future plans.
Adding Birch feels like a win-win situation for the Raptors.
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An early first look at Team Canada’s frontcourt?
As an added bonus to all of this, by adding Birch, the Raptors also added another Canadian to their roster.
Birch will become just the sixth Canadian to suit up for the Raptors in the team’s history, joining the likes of Jamaal Magloire, Cory Joseph, Anthony Bennett, Oshae Brissett and fellow Montreal native Boucher.
And what’s really cool is there’s the likely potential of seeing an all-Montreal frontcourt of Birch and Boucher, something that Toronto coach Nick Nurse may want to look into a lot, not just for the benefit of the Raptors but for Team Canada, too.
Considering where the Raptors are in the standings, there’s a good chance Nurse will move onto his responsibilities as Canada Basketball’s men’s team head coach earlier than he probably would’ve liked, and there’s a very real possibility that he’ll have both Birch and Boucher on his roster in Victoria.
There is a hiccup with that plan since Birch will be a free agent, but that shouldn’t stop Nurse from getting a look at seeing what Birch can do alongside Boucher. It could pay dividends for both of the teams he coaches.
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