Where South Carolina basketball's Collin Murray-Boyles is expected to land before Wednesday's NBA Draft

South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles is a draft prospect many experts expect won’t make it past the first round. The NBA draft kicks off Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST, and the forward has a green room invite. Last week, GamecockCentral showcased various potential landing spots for the talented big man. In the lead-up to draft night, those projections from outlets have not reneged on their praise of Murray-Boyles.

ESPN’s duo of Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo slotted Murray-Boyles at No. 15 to the Thunder less than a week ago. On Monday, they came out with a new mock. That one has the Thunder selecting Maryland freshman Derik Queen instead, another big man. Murray-Boyles rose five spots to inside the top ten, with Phoenix picking the Columbia native.

“With the Suns desperately needing to upgrade their frontcourt — especially after losing their starting power forward in Durant — Murray-Boyles is likely someone the team will consider heavily if it keeps the pick, along with a more traditional big man such as Derik Queen,” Givony wrote.

The tenth pick traded hands multiple times before former MVP Kevin Durant landed in Houston. It eventually ended up with Phoenix when the trade dust settled. The Suns’ frontcourt depth is lacking, and Murray-Boyles would immediately slide in as a potential contributor.

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Despite the high grade on Murray-Boyles, his former coach is instructing teams not to attach themselves blindly to the forward’s long-term potential.

“I recommend these guys to draft Collin, not on his ceiling, but draft him on his floor,” Lamont Paris said. “So I say this with a grain of salt or three, but once Collin learns, and I don’t profess to know the NBA like that, but once Collin learns how to move in the NBA, what the rules are, the rule changes…I think any team that gets him is going to be shocked at how viable an option he would be to actually put in the game early on.”

On3’s mock draft is in line with ESPN’s. James Fletcher III wrote that Murray-Boyles is a “versatile fit on a team looking for a new identity, which could easily turn to defense.” But not every outlet or expert has the former South Carolina star going to the Suns.

CBS Sports’s Gary Parrish has Murray-Boyles falling one spot to the 11th pick. This would keep with the trend of an out-west destination: that’s the Trail Blazers’ selection. The Trail Blazers currently have a frontcourt consisting of more depth than the Suns, meaning Murray-Boyles would face a tougher track to playing time. They’ve already inked DeAndre Ayton, Jerami Grant, Deni Avdija, and Donovan Clingan for next season, among others.

“The two-year from South Carolina is impactful in many ways on both ends of the court,” Parrish wrote. “His feel for the game, instincts, and defensive versatility have many evaluators on board with the 19-year-old being a lottery pick.”

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The Ringer’s J. Kyle Mann is not as bullish on Murray-Boyles, though he still has him slotted in the middle of the first round. In his mock draft, updated Tuesday, he has the South Carolina forward coming off the board fifteenth to the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Teams have been looking for their own personal Draymonds (longtime Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green) for more than a decade, and CMB actually has the skill set, not just the chalk outline of one, to make it happen,” he wrote.

Murray-Boyles’s main struggle, as documented in college, is a lack of consistent shooting from the big man. But Lamont Paris has confidence in his former player.

“He already is a servant, as a teammate,” Paris said. “He just happened to be our most talented guy, and he had a servant mindset, also.”

Other publications fail to agree on a landing spot for Murray-Boyles. Tankathon.com has him going twelfth to the Bulls. Meanwhile, USA Today has CMB going one spot back to the Hawks, a short drive from Columbia. And Yahoo is in agreement with CBS Sports, sending Murray-Boyles to Portland. The one consensus from the experts? Murray-Boyles is a true first-round talent.

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