{"id":813082,"date":"2026-07-19T23:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T23:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/813082\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T23:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T23:39:09","slug":"atlantic-notes-murray-boyles-wade-hukporti-nets-flexibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/813082\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlantic Notes: Murray-Boyles, Wade, Hukporti, Nets Flexibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Collin Murray-Boyles<\/a>\u2018 transformation from 9th overall pick to a crucial part of the Raptors\u2019 future happened quickly, especially after his playoff performance, when he averaged 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks while helping the Raptors take the eventual Eastern Conference Finalist Cavaliers to seven games.<\/p>\n

His offense, which is further along than expected, is a big part of why the team trusted him, and that trust is critical to helping him settle into whatever role comes next, Eric Koreen writes for The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest compliments you can have as a rookie is to get recognition for contributing in a playoff series,\u201d Murray-Boyles said. \u201cA lot of rookies don\u2019t get a chance to feel what it\u2019s like to play in playoff games early on. Me being able to do that and also create an impact is just proof of the work I put in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray-Boyles said he has studied the game tape of teammate Scottie Barnes<\/a>, who is able to mitigate shooting concerns to serve as a dangerous playmaker on offense, which is similar to how the team envisions the second-year big man functioning in the offensive scheme.<\/p>\n

While Murray-Boyles was expected to be a key part of the Raptors\u2019 Summer League squad, a hand injury caused him to miss the event, but he\u2019s excited for the season to come.<\/p>\n

We have more from around the Atlantic Division:<\/p>\n

When free agency opened, the Sixers\u2019 first priority was bringing in Dean Wade<\/a>, a player who has never averaged more than six points in a season, Adam Aaronson writes for the Philly Voice<\/a>. For a team suddenly loaded with shot creators and limited on the other end, Wade\u2019s defensive versatility at 6\u20199\u2033 is more important than ever. His offensive rebounding and ability to space the floor \u2013 he\u2019s a career 36.7% shooter from deep \u2013 without requiring many touches are also going to be very valuable for the team as it looks to regain its contender status.
\nThe Sixers switched out their experienced backup center, Andre Drummond<\/a>, for a much less proven choice in Ariel Hukporti<\/a> this summer. While a list of his strengths and weaknesses could hold a lot of similarities to Adem Bona<\/a>, Hukporti is much stronger and bigger, Aaronson writes<\/a>, giving the team a shot at having a real rim protector off the bench. However, he\u2019ll have to get his issues with fouling under control if he wants a chance at carving out a major role for himself this season.
\nGeneral manager Sean Marks believes it\u2019s important not to use up all your potential flexibility in the offseason, especially when you have a roster as in flux as the Nets\u2018 is currently, Erik Slater writes for Clutch Points<\/a>. \u201cWhen you\u2019re rebuilding a team like we have been the last couple of years, that\u2019s important,\u201d Marks said. \u201cYou just never know what\u2019s going to come your way. So for us to have that optionality will be really important. But at the same time, I like the roster we have.\u201d That could mean that Brooklyn is done making moves for the time being, but it\u2019s safe to assume that they will continue assessing their best next steps long after the offseason is over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Collin Murray-Boyles\u2018 transformation from 9th overall pick to a crucial part of the Raptors\u2019 future happened quickly, especially…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":813083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[42557,49,48,62928,16548,459,45045,82],"class_list":["post-813082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ariel-hukporti","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-collin-murray-boyles","tag-dean-wade","tag-nba","tag-sean-marks","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}