Khem Birch wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors at any cost and the feeling was mutual for the Raptors at the price of $20 million over the next three years according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent C Khem Birch is returning to the Toronto Raptors on a three-year, $20M contract, his agent Austin Brown of @caa_basketball tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 5, 2021
Birch joined Toronto after the trade deadline when the Orlando Magic bought him out after three and a half seasons.
He was very productive in his 19 games (17 starts), averaging 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 30 minutes. He recorded three double-doubles while collecting career highs in points (20), rebounds (14) and assists (6) over those games.
Khem Birch shared his happiness in a press conference about his return to the Raptors via TSN Sports reporter Josh Lewenberg.
“It feels like a dream come true. It’s so surreal right now. I just can’t put it into words. I knew where I wanted to go. I didn’t even know what other teams were interested in me. I just wanted to come here, regardless of the price or years or anything.”
Birch, who will be bringing solid defense and low post scoring with an expanding shooting range, took to social media to thank the Toronto Raptors for making his dream come true:
Toronto, let’s run it back! This is no doubt a dream come true. I’m coming home 🇨🇦 https://t.co/RuH5MbOJJn
— Khem Birch (@Khem_Birch) August 6, 2021
