Were Toronto’s NBA Draft moves genius or chaotic?

A post-mortem analysis of Toronto Raptors’ 2025 draft activity, in what ended up being Masai Ujiri’s final act.

Heading into the 2025 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors did what they’ve always done best: tune out the noise and zig exactly when everyone expected them to zag. While social media buzzed with mock drafts, rankings, and hot takes, Bobby Webster et al. weren’t about to let consensus rankings box them in. Instead, they kept their eyes on the prize—prioritizing and believing in their talent evaluation strategy- a relentless focus on defensive versatility, toughness, and winning players. Sure, the talking heads and the fanbase might’ve raised their eyebrows, but the Raptors front office didn’t flinch, staying true to their beat, dancing confidently to their own rhythm.

Despite rumours of potential trades, the Raptors decided to keep it old-school and just went ahead and drafted a player when it was their turn. However, selecting South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles with the 9th pick would have been more sensational had it not been for the Ace Bailey drama. But not to be outdone, “CMB” immediately went viral as soon as NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced his selection.

Read the body language of CMB (and the people on his table) as you may, but much like Bailey, CMB will be with the team that drafted him, and he’s the newest shiny Raptor toy for now. Toronto doubled down on the defense, toughness, and grit in the second round, picking up Alijah Martin, a shooting guard/safety who helped Florida become the Kings of March again. He was the 2nd best player on the Florida team, with a remarkable NCAA championship run led by Walter Clayton Jr.

The New Guys

9th Pick – Collin Murray-Boyles (South Carolina)

Position: PF

Age: 20

Height: 6’6.5” (without shoes)

Wingspan: 7’0.75”

2024-25 Stats: 16.8 points (26.5% 3P%), 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks, 2.4 TO

If there’s a player tailor-made for the Raptors’ obsession with versatile defenders and high-IQ hoopers, it’s Collin Murray-Boyles. The South Carolina standout levelled up dramatically in his sophomore year, averaging 16.8 points and 8.3 boards while anchoring a scrappy defence—precisely the kind of gritty, switchable, team-first guy Toronto loves. Sure, the three-point shot (26.5%) still needs work. Still, with his motor, strength, and sneaky playmaking out of the short roll, CMB fits seamlessly into Darko Rajaković’s defensive ecosystem. He might not light up highlight reels immediately. CMB is precisely the steady, smart, glue-guy piece a winning team should have as part of their building blocks.

39th Pick – Alijah Martin (Florida)

Position: SG

Age: 23

Height: 6’1.5” (without shoes)

Wingspan: 6’7.5”

2024-25 Stats: 14.4 points (35% 3P%), 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.4 TO

Martin plays like a linebacker in sneakers—guarding up, bullying mismatches, and skying for dunks. He brings defensive juice that shows up on film and in the boxscore: 1.5 steals per game, tireless ball pressure, and a willingness to crash the glass and dive on the floor like a man possessed. Offensively, he’s a microwave scorer with real pull-up equity, streaky but fearless from deep, and smart enough to keep the ball moving. Sure, at 6’1.5”, Martin is undersized for a true wing, and he’s not exactly a primary creator. But when you factor in his mentality, two-way motor, and pressure-tested DNA, you start to see the Raptors-y outline of a glue guy who could sneak into the rotation and stick. He’s not flashy—he’s a difference-maker. There’s a reason the Florida Atlantic Owls made it to the “big dance” twice, including a Final Four appearance, and the Florida Gators got the chip recently. He’s the common denominator. Martin is the type of gritty overachiever Masai Ujiri loves to find late in the draft while the rest of the league overthinks potential. Fitting this is the last player Ujiri will ever draft for the Raptors.

UDFA Two-Way Contract – Chucky Hepburn (Louisville)

Position: PG

Age: 22

Height: 6’0.5” (without shoes)

Wingspan: 6’4.5”

2024-25 Stats: 16.4 points (32.8% 3P%), 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.4 steals, 3 TO

Hepburn has legit floor-general vibes, a high-IQ defense-first point guard with strong playmaking and finishing skills in the halfcourt. He’s comfortable running an offense with the poise of someone who’s seen this movie a thousand times. His strength and fearless attitude let him finish through contact, armed with the ability to use every part of the board on his layups that could make Kyrie Irving proud.

Standing around 6’2” (with shoes) without impressive length, Hepburn is undersized by NBA standards. This, especially with the advent of jumbo point guards, limits his versatility on both ends. Still, he profiles perfectly as a disruptive two-way or backup PG. Hepburn can shoot, but he’s closer to being a streaky shooter than an active threat. The good thing is that he’s a much better shooter in catch-and-shoot situations. He’ll likely be Raptors 905-bound, have the keys to the team as the lead guard, and work on refining his shooting.

Summer League Roster Shaping Up

The Summer League roster is also starting to shape up. Collin Murray-Boyles, Alijah Martin, and Chucky Hepburn should be a shoo-in there. Last year’s rooks, Jamal Shead, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamison Battle, and maybe Ja’Kobe Walter could also be there. Perhaps we’ll also see AJ Lawson, Colin Castleton, and Jared Rhoden on the lineup. Also, throw in Ulrich Chomche if he’s back from his injury. Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart and Alabama’s Cliff Omoruyi will also be joining the team on Exhibit-10 deals.

CMB – Right Pick, Wrong Fit?

The most popular draft prospect attached to the Raptors is Duke’s Khaman Maluach. He’s a center and could potentially be Jakob Poeltl’s successor in the future. The other is Noa Essengue, who went straight to Toronto to work out for the Raptors before attending the draft the following day. Essengue is a high-upside mystery box wing and fits the raw “Vision 6’9” Raptors ethos.

After the consensus top five, the 2025 NBA Draft turned into “choose your own adventure” mode, and the Raptors went with Collin Murray-Boyles, a PF/C from South Carolina. While Murray-Boyles brings defense and defensive versatility to the team, the Raptors have once again doubled down on their Vision 6’9” that can’t shoot. CMB makes an awkward fit beside Jakob Poeltl and Scottie Barnes.

However, the Raptors like CMB, with Raptors GM Bobby Webster confirming that they had him ranked higher than ninth internally. Per Webster, CMB’s got “Elite defense, versatile, good hands… he has a chance to be a really, really good defender in the NBA.” It’s worth noting that Toronto finished near the bottom in defensive rating last season, with the renewed defensive effort in the latter half of the season (albeit unnecessary).

I half-joking said to our RaptorsHQ group chat that the CMB draft is like me going to the Nike Factory outlet, picking up a nice pair of Nike Pegasus, knowing that I already have several runners for everyday use. Maybe I’ll like the newer technology on this new Pegasus better than my good, reliable “daily drivers.” Should I have taken that Air Jordan 39 on sale for 40% off?

It’s clear that the Raptors did not make a “big swing”—Maluach and Essengue were still on the board, which falls under the “big swing” category. CMB represents more of a well-calculated swing, considering that his floor is significantly higher than those two prospects. However, this side of the Raptors’ internet is skeptical that CMB’s potential is more than that of an elite roleplayer if he can figure out his offense, especially his shooting.

Shifting Draft Philosophy

The new additions—Collin Murray-Boyles, Alijah Martin, and Chucky Hepburn—have a few things in common: defense, toughness, grit, and making winning plays. Dawgs. It’s a continuing trend on how the Raptors’ front office has made decisions with their roster moves, especially with the young ones. Last season, the Raptors brought Jamal Shead, a dawg of a defender, and Ja’Kobe Walter, who showed last season that he’s not just a shooter after showing much better fight defensively, especially late in the season.

I guess watching the playoffs, especially the Indiana Pacers, showcased a shift in how the playoffs are played: fast and furious and littered with difference-makers. Players like Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith were the Pacers’ X-Factor, and their winning plays got them to the NBA Finals. CMB and Martin look like they’re tailor-fit for how the Pacers play, especially defensively and in making winning plays on both ends of the floor. With Ujiri moving the team’s timeline forward with the Brandon Ingram acquisition, the additions of CMB and Martin put the Raptors team on notice that the team will need to compete and compete hard on a nightly basis. It’s a big departure from taking big swings on Vision 6’9” projects that are more of an upside-swing/mystery box type of players like Scottie Barnes, Dalano Banton, Precious Achiuwa, and Isaac Bonga, to name a few.

During the season-exit interview, Ujiri said, “Wherever we fall, we are going for the best talent available.” Well, the “best talent available” is no longer about pure upside for Toronto. The ceiling is definitely considered, but the team’s been valuing players who could be difference-makers. If the Raptors can find a difference-maker AND still be seen as having a good or high ceiling, that prospect will sit near the top of their board over the “big swing mystery boxes.”

Talent Acquisition vs Roster Building

Rebuilding is pushing the reset button and demolishing the existing infrastructure to be able to start over. It often coincides with losses, futility, and the growing pains of watching a bad, young team grow throughout a few seasons.

The front office teased the Raptors fanbase about that notion after jettisoning key players, including the coach, from the #WeTheChamps era. Understandably, the team lost its DNA, and it looked primed for tanking—an essential piece to a rebuild to acquire high-level draft prospects. However, the team gradually pivoted from a patient multi-year approach to acquiring young, cheap prospects. It started bringing in good but unproven talents that became expensive pretty fast because the team had to pay them. It’s confusing, but if you go back to what Assistant GM Dan Tolzman and GM Bobby Webster have said in recent pressers, there’s one term that’s flown under the radar:

Talent Acquisition

Talent Acquisition in sports involves gathering as much talent as possible, regardless of roster fit and the team’s positional needs. The focus is on how the team sees long-term potential and how it fits with the vision. This is when you draft another power forward despite having that position termed “bases loaded.” Talent Acquisition could also be loading up the keg with ammos so that when you have to make a move, you have options regarding trade pieces coming in all shapes of talent, position, and salary.

Make no mistake—the team moved the goalpost so that they are in a position to compete for a postseason spot, but the roster is not optimal. Perhaps the team will move into “roster-building mode” this summer, as the team has accumulated tradeable assets from the talent acquisition they’ve done over the past year or two. Perhaps a trade or two, or even some mid-level signing, can address the team’s needs and overall gaps in skill set. The team said they would address the backup center position one way or another, whether through the draft or moves this summer. That’s something that Ujiri said during his exit interview, which was further echoed by Webster recently.

Final Thoughts

The draft picks themselves are at least A- in a vacuum. After VJ Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, and Tre Johnson, there’s a range of around 15 where they could go in any order. In fact, if, let’s say, someone like Derik Queen gets picked early, or in the Brooklyn Nets’ case, drafting Egor Demin 8th overall, I would not put up a fight, and it would be easy to justify the selection to me, especially in a vacuum. There are several “big swings” in the lottery — from Jeremiah Fears, Egor Demin, Khaman Maluach, Noa Essengue, Carter Bryant, etc. There are only a handful of players in this group with a floor that’s a late lottery level type that can play right away, such as Derik Queen, Kon Kneuppel, Thomas Sorber, and CMB, to name a few. I embrace the CMB selection, even though it wasn’t my preference (I would rather go for the big swing), but I do question the fit simultaneously. However, as the front office said, this team is in “Talent Acquisition” mode. I wouldn’t worry about the fit until I see what we have, entering the training camp. At the end of the day, personally, I would put CMB as a B+ to A- type of talent, but the fit is closer to C+.

There are so many ways to “skin the cat.” It appears that either the Raptors front office and/or the ownership doesn’t have the patience to be stuck in irrelevancy as part of the painful process of trusting the rebuilding process, much like how the OKC Thunder went through (hey, it worked for them!). This FO is playing the middle — rebuilding from the middle, shuffling resources like a staffing agency in talent acquisition mode, in the hopes of finding the right mix that will bring the team back to relevancy and “win another championship.” I admire the bold move — bringing in difference-makers that will probably affect the team’s roster development and culture behind what we see in the camera. We have collected a bunch of “dawgs” now, I’m afraid the Memphis Grizzlies might sue the team for stacking up too much “grit and grind” players. However, as the Raptors are stacking up players who can’t shoot, they probably need to invest not just in the highest tier of the Noahlytics System subscription but also be armed with a platoon of skills and shooting coaches to put players like Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles in a position to succeed.

Lastly, Vision 6’9” is a noble idea and not necessarily flawed — it’s the Raptors’ front office’s flawed execution of their vision. Whether it’s the past talent acquisition, not having the developmental runway, or perhaps both. However, the team could’ve simplified this process had they tanked for Victor Wembanyama and/or Cooper Flagg instead.