2024-2025 NBA/Toronto Raptors thread

[The Big Chill]

Watch his other interviews and he genuinely seems excited. I think people are misreading it.

[bluejays]

Honestly, to me it more seemed he was upset. It could've been something along the lines of damn, I'm going to be in a new country away from my family and girlfriend. In that case it's no biggie to me. But if he's being ignorant, forget him.


After reading the profile a bit on this guy, it seems less of a project and more someone they'll use as a defensive specialist and not expect a ton from him offensively. Barnes was also not a great shooter (still isn't). Hard to develop a shot, it seems.

[Cheese]

He had already said it was shock and was extremely happy to be a Raptor!

[Karl]

Yeah. People who think he was pissed about this have it wrong. This ain't no repeat of the B.J. Armstrong or Kenny Anderson scenarios.

[Harry Lime]

Remember that he's also a product of the US education system. He probably thinks of Canada as frozen Cambodia from the 60s.

[trackercowe]

The Raptors are a generally well run organization, and players love Masai. Toronto will never be a top destination, being north of the border, but drafted players could do far worse. At least in Canada they'd be avoiding potential military service. Among the top ten I think Toronto should be one of the top destinations in the lottery side of the draft imo.

[jg13]

The original reaction in my opinion was not positive. Don't think he doesn't want to be a Raptor but I do think he may have had a spot he did want to go instead and let it show.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1938057215039955201

[SuperMatt18]

Pretty surprised it wasn't Noa Essengue...I thought he would have more upside and felt like a raptors type pick.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by jg13

did not want to be picked by the raptors

https://twitter.com/user/status/1938054707680837875

What a ****ing loser, lol.

[zukes]

I happened to switch over from the Jays game just as the Raptors were making their pick. I rewound it a few times and it could just be a big sigh of relief type reaction. Keep in mind that one moment just made him rich!!!

Seems like his D is NBA ready, hopefully they can improve his shot enough to make him a starter on the next good Raptors team.

[Cheese]

Here is his comments...

Collin Murray-Boyles addresses viral reaction to being picked by Raptors in NBA Draft 2025 - CBSSports.com https://share.google/LzWU8nj62Dmos6Gw1

[octothorp]

Yeah, the in-the-moment reaction is nothing here. He was a fan of them when he was younger (shared a picture of himself wearing a Raptors shirt from a few years back), and worked out with them in Toronto... generally you don't work out with teams that you don't want to be drafted by.

I'm a skeptic on the fit long-term... Like I think if you're playing him and Scottie together full-time, unless the shot improves a lot, you probably need a stretch C, and those are one of the rarest, most sought-after archetypes in the league. But... there's a significant number of draft analysts who had him as a top 6 prospect in this draft. He just tended to slide down in mock drafts due to fit concerns. If you're drafting best player available, he might have been the right choice.

My fit concerns are more longterm though. For now, he'll be the second-best P&R roll-man on the roster right from the start. Not having another roller after Poeltl was a real issue last year, and I'm looking forward to him and Shead together, between the P&R offense and their defense... I envision them blowing up so many P&Rs together. Of course, they'll need three shooters around them.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Realistically Scottie is likely the centerpiece of any trade for Giannis, so this pick may have been made with that as a consideration.

[The Big Chill]

The Raptors aren’t good enough to worry about fit right now. I’d things work out and they start to win a few games this year then they should have the pieces to tweak the roster on the go.

[bluejays]

The problem with this team really is scoring. Ingram is the only true scoring option. A lot of their players, including Scottie, can't just take the ball in crunch time and perform. Including Scottie in a Giannis trade would be appropriate. Reliability in crunch time is where this team is lacking. A lot of guys are "mid". I really think anyone on the team is touchable.

[SuperMatt18]

Giannis and Scottie look pretty similar at 23....my worry is you're just trading 23 year old Giannis lite for 31 year old Giannis, and you're giving up all the prime years for a declining player.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Before the playoffs I would have been against Giannis, but with how bad the East is looking next year adding Giannis might actually be enough to be a Finals contender. Beating anyone from the West might be close to impossible, but the injury Gods blessed them in a Finals once, they could again.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Before the playoffs I would have been against Giannis, but with how bad the East is looking next year adding Giannis might actually be enough to be a Finals contender. Beating anyone from the West might be close to impossible, but the injury Gods blessed them in a Finals once, they could again.

To me relying on injuries isn't a great strategy. I know what you're saying, but this team generally has a good culture (minus the final Nick Nurse years). Anyone brought in is likely going to like the organization. But there's a talent problem at the moment. Scottie doesn't have the explosiveness that Giannis has. He's a bit slow in that regard. To me getting Giannis is just one piece. One player can't carry the team anymore. Much more would be needed. I hope Masai has a plan because it seems like a lot of shuffling of pieces over the past couple years, but all in all we're not that great a team.

[Jiggy]

Masai is out as VP and Chairman of the Raps.

[3thirty]

Weird timing the day after the draft.