The Raptors reportedly offered the ninth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to the Boston Celtics for Derrick White last year. The Celtics didn’t go for it, and the Raptors ended up drafting Collin Murray-Boyles.
After one season with Murray-Boyles, not landing Derrick White looks like a huge win. Murray-Boyles played a great rookie season, and while White is a championship veteran, the former is younger with very high upside.
The question of White vs. Murray-Boyles also came up on the August 24 episode of The Kevin O’Connor Show. Andrew Sharp asked O’Connor whether he would like the Raptors with Kawhi Leonard better if White was also on the roster. O’Connor said no and praised Murray-Boyles’s potent
“I think with Collin Murray-Boyles, he has this real star role player potential,” he said. “And star role players are All-Stars, and I think with Collin Murray-Boyles entering year two, that’s a guy that I’d want on my team, on my side, especially with the way Toronto is building this out with Scottie and Kawhi and CMB and Allen Graves. This is a long, versatile, tough, hard-nosed team.”
Of course, holding on to the pick that became Murray-Boyles looks even better because White had a down season while the rookie showed out immediately. White shot a career-low 39.4% from the field and 32.7% from deep after three consecutive seasons of shooting at least 38%.
Collin Murray-Boyles already looks like a long-term building block for the Raptors
It only took Murray-Boyles one season and seven playoff games to establish himself as a player who should be a big part of the Raptors’ long-term future alongside Scottie Barnes. The offensive fit will still need some work, as neither is a particularly good 3-point shooter yet, but Barnes and Murray-Boyles have the potential to be one of the most terrifying defensive duos in the NBA.
Both are long, strong, switchable, and can guard multiple positions depending on the team’s needs. Barnes is already an All-Defensive-level player after finishing this past season with All-Defensive Second Team honors, and Murray-Boyles is someone who could shoot up the defensive ranks this upcoming season. The Raptors have the infrastructure around them to make the most of their defensive talent with other good defenders, like Leonard, Jamal Shead, and Ja’Kobe Walter.
Trading for Leonard will hopefully allow the Raptors to maximize Barnes’s prime years as he enters his mid-twenties. Murray-Boyles can be a part of that present while also helping Toronto build for the future.
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