The Portland Trail Blazers' young core is emerging in the second half of the 2024-25 season and has been a catalyst in their season turnaround. Although their draft odds for Cooper Flagg aren't as high as fans had hoped entering the season, it's hard to be discouraged by their future outlook given the strides up-and-coming players have taken.
Donovan Clingan picked up right where he left off at UConn and continues to play winning basketball, providing value with his rebounding and rim protection. Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija's breakout seasons have elevated the Blazers' floor, putting them in contention for a Play-In spot with their impact as versatile wings. Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe have shown promising flashes of their All-Star upside, giving Blazers fans optimism that their much-needed go-to player is already on their roster.
Between the athletic backcourt, two-way wings, and anchor in the middle, Portland's season should be viewed as a success as they finally have their starting five of the future.
The Blazers are now officially ready to accelerate their rebuild. This season has proven that Portland should be prioritizing how their draft prospect (or anyone else they add this offseason) best fits into their young core rather than simply taking the best player available and continuing to accumulate talented assets.
The fact that the Blazers have starting-level players at all five positions changes the dynamic heading into the 2025 NBA Draft. Instead of focusing on position, they need to be concerned about areas of need -- especially since Avdija and Camara can both effectively play positions two through four.
With that being the case, the Blazers need to focus on shooting and playmaking without compromising their strengths of length, athleticism, and defensive versatility.
Currently, Portland has the tenth-worst record in the league at 29-39. Assuming they pick towards the end of the lottery, a few potential sharpshooters are projected to be selected in that range, including Liam McNeeley and Kon Knueppel.
Those wouldn't be bad picks, but it's generally more challenging for shooters to develop other skills later on than for non-shooters to become shooters. In other words, their ceilings are more limited.
The Blazers don't have a clear-cut star player on their roster and need to shoot for more upside. As they continue to improve in the coming seasons, their draft position will only worsen (with perhaps the exception of the Milwaukee Bucks' future first-rounders).
They must go into the draft and balance the upside with roster strengths and weaknesses. From that standpoint, a prospect that makes a ton of sense to target is South Carolina forward Collin-Murray Boyles.
Blazers should target Collin Murray-Boyles in the 2025 NBA Draft
In general, it's bad practice to bet on an undersized forward who can't shoot very well in today's NBA. But there are exceptions to that rule, and 6-foot-7 Murray-Boyles is a special talent.
Bleacher Report's Johnathan Wasserman has Murray-Boyles at No. 9 on the 2025 NBA Draft Big Board, highlighting similar strengths and weaknesses.
"With outlier strength/quickness and unteachable finishing tools/instincts, Collin Murray-Boyles has become such a tough cover inside the arc that the lack of perimeter shooting isn't a red flag," wrote Wasserman.
Some analysts, including Wasserman, have compared Murray-Boyles to Julius Randle in terms of his ability to utilize his strength to attack the paint, which also opens up his face-up game. The question mark surrounding his offensive impact is whether or not he can develop a reliable jump shot. Murray-Boyles is shooting just 26.5 percent from deep and 70.7 percent from the charity stripe in his sophomore season.
But the reality is, there's no flawless prospect entering the draft at their age, especially where the Blazers will likely be picking. The lack of shooting could be a blessing in disguise for Portland because, otherwise, there's no way he'd fall that far.
The Blazers would be better off taking someone like Murray-Boyles despite their dire need for more shooting and then continuing to address that need elsewhere via trades or free agency. Outside of shooting, Murray-Boyles's impact on winning makes spending a lottery pick on him more than worth it.
He's also drawn comparisons to Draymond Green in terms of his defensive versatility and potential to be a hub to run the offense through. Few prospects entering the draft seem to read the game better than Murray-Boyles on both ends, which translates to both his passing and defense because of his ability to anticipate plays. That doesn't always show up in the box score, but his high basketball IQ significantly raises his floor and ability to adjust to the NBA's pace of play.
The Blazers roster has a lot of one-dimensional players who prioritize scoring, such as Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and Deandre Ayton. They could use someone like Murray-Boyles to raise their floor, similar to Deni Avdija, with his versatility, well-rounded game, and ability to contribute both on and off the ball.
The potential to become a better shooter also provides him with a higher ceiling. But even as is, Murray-Boyles is an NBA-ready player who would provide much-needed forward depth for the Blazers.
Drafting him would give Chauncey Billups (or whoever next year's head coach will be) more flexibility regarding rotations. His unique skill set may be viewed as a negative to some, but it's the exact type of talent and versatility that successful organizations like the Oklahoma City Thunder value.
If he's still on the board when the Blazers are on the clock, Portland should strongly consider Murray-Boyles this summer.