OverDrive - Armstrong on the Raptors drafting Murray-Boyles, his famous reaction and the team pathway in Toronto

Episode Date: June 26, 2025

TSN Basketball Analyst Jack Armstrong joined OverDrive to discuss the Raptors' draft selection of Collin Murray-Boyles, his intangibles of being a complete player, his reaction to being drafted, Toronto's team trajectory, Cooper Flagg's fit with the Mavericks, the Knicks' coaching candidates and more.

Unmistakably Canadian. It's the music that raised you. The artists raising the bar. Hi, this is Bryan Adams. Hey, my name's Brett Emmons. I'm from the Glorious Sons. Hi, I'm Nellie Furtado. Made in Canada.

The station that champions Canadian music. Loud, proud, and all yours. No passports required. Just press play. Tap into Made in Canada now on iHeartRadio.ca or the free iHeartRadio app Here's our TSN Raptor analyst Jack Armstrong there he is how we do it Jack. How you doing guys?

Hey look I had to battle traffic on the Don Valley Parkway parking lot for like an hour and hour and a half And I'm sitting here in an empty studio you guys got the light man what's going on yeah i know jack isn't that don valley parkway the biggest joke on earth coming up here like to any out any time after noon it is all it's disgusting look i grew up in new york so you know the long island expressway the bell parkway the brooklyn queens expressway the cross bronx expressway but i tell you what the dot valleys right there at the top of the list of being one of the all-time worst roads and we got the gardener traffic as well but but i'm

here i found my way to get here for you guys i love sitting here by myself well you don't want to be around us jack we're a pain in the ass you guys well we miss you it it's great to see you and um... i watch i'm i'm get asked about the pick first let's begin with you know who the rappers took night overall last night out of south carolina colin murray boils uh... i don't think it was a surprise i mean i think that was the range he was expected to go in

but uh... tells what kind of player do you think the Raptors got here and you think they've made a wise decision in taking him ninth overall well that was the neighborhood he was in right your point Brian I think when you look at him is he a complete polished offensive player at this point no is he an outstanding elite type defensive player who brings incredible energy like that top 1%? A guy that you're definitely going to want in your locker room and want part of your program? Yes, absolutely. So he's got a lot of really cool winning attributes

about him. And now it's about dotting the I's and crossing the T's in terms of getting some polish in his game so that he's at a point where down the road he becomes a well-balanced all-around player, but I love the intangibles. There are measurables there that are really good, but there are also the things that he brings to the table that quite frankly winning teams have. And so I like where he's at. And as we know, it's a jigsaw puzzle here. We got the second round tonight, and then obviously free agency next week. So it's an incomplete picture. So who's to say who will be on this team come October when you get to training camp but he's if you're loyal to your board and he was the ninth guy rated on your board or the

top guy available whatever case you want to put then you got to pick them because it's all about adding talent and you could always mix and match and move people later. What was your thought process on, we'll call it his reaction that kind of went viral? You know, I don't get all worked up over this stuff because to me, I'm of the opinion, a lot of these guys, they go, man, what a journey it's been on, and here I am, I made it.

I can't blank and believe it I made it and and the other part of me too is the fact that you know I think we get so obsessed with what people think of us and I really don't care about that I care about the fact that hey you're coming in as an employee and it's your job to please us not our job to please you. It's not my job to make you happy it's your job to make me happy and then when you start producing I'll do a little more to make you happy and look oh dog and noodles you guys have been professional athletes when you put up numbers and you produce, you get a little more sugar. And when you don't get it done, you get a little less sugar and you get a

boot in the ass. So in my opinion, I don't care about what some 19 or 20 year old kid thinks. And quite frankly, I think it was just a natural reaction to him saying, man, I can't believe i'm here and i made it and even if he met today in a different way i don't care does a bother me in the least maybe heard about that parkway hahaha drive of the dvd you know what i could i could relate to how he feels

yeah that might have been what he was really i really have last night uh... which a car and strong and i think if a Raptor fan, like you said Jack a lot could still be changing But as of now you presume Brandon Ingram's gonna be a Raptor next year. You got to believe Murray Boyles would be a Raptor next year So those are two pieces that are gonna be their opening night I don't know how much you know Murray Boyles is really gonna factor into this team we'll see you know likely a depth player to start his career of course but Ingram's gonna play like Ingram will be in the starting five and putting up numbers so if you put Ingram on this team

Murray Boyles on this team another year Jacoby Walter growing up you know Grady Dick another year again presuming these guys are here if you're a Raptor fan you know how much growth can you expect just based on what we already know could be kind of happening going into next season? Well, two things. Number one, Orlando made a good deal getting Desmond Bain. I thought Atlanta made a good deal getting Porzingis in the last year of his contract. There's a little carrot on the stick for Porzingis to have a really good year because he's in a contract year. And I think he and Trey Young will be an interesting combination. And then you're on the flip side you have the Achilles injuries unfortunately to Damian Lillard, Jason Tatum, and now Tyrese Halliburton that impact three of the top teams in the

Eastern Conference. Now you still have New York that will be very good, you have Cleveland that will be very good, they have some things they got to clean up with their cap, but ultimately I think if you're an Eastern Conference team like Toronto you should look at yourself and say why not us? Detroit got into the top six last year and they were a complete utter disaster for a number of years and you know you now you had Brandon Ingram and quite frankly to use a college term they redshirted them they never even played them so to me I think they should feel pretty good about they've improved their talent level they added a nice young

piece last night they'll add something tonight it with the ninth pick of the second round and I fully expect them to try to be active if at all possible here in the coming days in terms of trade so do I think what we're talking about right now is what the roster is gonna be when they get to training camp October 1 I'd say no with Jack Armstrong so in terms of what else went down last night, Cooper Flag, we all knew he was going number one overall. You know, if Anthony Davis is healthy, Kyrie is going to opt out and re-sign and we believe he'll come back healthy.

Yep. Like, do you see Flag stepping right in and having a massive impact? And could you see the Mavericks? You know, now you got KD in Houston. You got a couple of, you know, teams down in Texas who are chasing that Oklahoma City team in the West Who do you think will have you know? Where does where does Cooper flag in the mouths come into play in terms of your pecking order? Well great situation number one

I mean he's gonna be playing for a guy that's a Hall of Fame player as his coach and Jason Kidd who's one of the all-time great leaders and and Jason Kidd, who's one of the all-time great leaders and just intelligent players we've had. And then he's playing with three guys that will end up in the Hall of Fame and Clay Thompson, Anthony Davis, as well as Kyrie Irving. And now unfortunately Kyrie Irving might be out for a good percentage of the year, which is difficult to deal with. But if they're able to upgrade in terms of playmaking, I think they have a very good team.

He walks into a winning program. Imagine going to play for Charlotte or Washington, one of those horrible teams. I mean, like that's bad. I mean, so he's coming into a great situation with tons of leadership. They've been a winning program. They were in the NBA finals two years ago. Yeah, they messed up the whole Luka Dantjic thing. I get that. But for a kid like Kuba Frank, I think it's an incredible opportunity

for him to thrive immediately. And as big a market as Dallas is. I still think he's blessed not having the play in l a in new york where people lose their minds so i think for him any market but those two i think it'd be great for him and i think he's gonna really uh... have an

excellent pro career so who do you think has a better chance of winning title next year than the mavericks of the lakers who good question. Yes. Oh good question. I would, hmm, if Kyrie were healthy I'd say Dallas. So I give a slight edge to the Lakers. I would say that, you know, I hope Luca comes back a little better in shape than he was you know cut down on a few hot dogs cut down on a few cold beverages and come in just a little better shape now look he's like the Babe Ruth of basketball you know he enjoys you know hey Babe Ruth could pretty good this 714 home runs everyone

says eyes fitness this that the other thing I get all that. Hey, man, he dragged your team to the NBA finals the year before. So I'm not sure what they were thinking there, but nonetheless, you're playing with LeBron, there's a higher standard now. And that dude's going to hold you accountable. So I'm really curious to see now the full year of the pressure and accountability of being a Laker with a new ownership group coming in. And believe me, you look at what they've done with the Dodgers, those people don't mess around. You better get it done. And so to me, and a contract extension pending, I think he's got a lot to be ready for. Jack, one of the craziest things in sports is when the Knicks just didn't have a guy in mind when they fired Teves, I thought like your hometown team, maybe you were going to insert yourself into the operation and like come back of the like yes come back of the century Jack Armstrong is the Nick. Count me in I mean you're thinking of money these guys are making now and look I knew Tibbs when he was in I used to work basketball camp with Tibbs when I was an assistant at Fordham he was an assistant at Harvard

we used to play lunchtime basketball and drink beer at night so he's made a lot more money than I did I would love one of those gigs you could give me a three-year deal and then fire my ass a week later okay because you could put me on the beach with the drink with the umbrella in it a cigar and I'm all set so was it in Detroit that had that deal and got my few Williams got some wherever he is but man he was in Phoenix and you guys you guys all know what grinded here in the media business is hard work compared to what these guys are doing uh... you know all kid this side

but that's jim dole uh... whether we're talking about the ranges we're talking about the next that's mister dolan and uh... leon rose their president has done an excellent job coming in there. And I'm not sure if Leon would make that decision if it was in and of itself his decision. I'm sure there was a lot of pressure there. And to your point, if you're going to make a decision like that, you have to have your

short list in your pocket of guys you know, you know you're going to be able to get. And they're still searching. And that's a tough job. And I'll tell you what, you know, you're going to get, you know, Mike Brown did a good job in Cleveland and Sacramento. He's been around the block a little bit. And, you know, you have some names, James Borrego right now and Mike Norrie who basically started here actually in Toronto working for Butch Carter and then obviously the former Memphis coach as well. See you have some good coaches but that's a that's a whole different animal coach in the Knicks. Big time with Jack Armstrong. So again the

Raptors have the ninth pick of the second round tonight. They took Murray Boyles out of South Carolina who who's, you know, I think he's going to, the intention is for him to play likely the four, maybe some of the five, like a smaller five. But you know, we all know they've got a lot of wing talent. They got a lot of guys who are kind of like, this has been the Messiah and Bobby Webster way of kind of building out this team. So I'm curious what you think they still need to attack here. Like they got Pertle,

I don't even know. I still don't know what quickly is. You might have a better idea than I do, but he barely played last year. I think the point position is still something they might need to improve at. But what do you think could happen here? Like is there a position of need you still think they need to really kind of pinpoint here? Well, they need shooting. Yes. Shooting's a problem and I just think you know obviously a backup to Pertle would be helpful. They don't have a lot of size beyond Pertle. You know they got a lot of wing size but I would say being able to have a little bit more of that and then what assets do you have that maybe you could throw out there in the market? Look, the elephant in the room.

He's a local kid, RJ Barrett. His name's been brought out there a lot. You know, what happens there? I think RJ Barrett compared to his time in New York has played terrific basketball for the Raptors. I think he's improved defensively. I'm impressed with how he played offensively since he's been here. So I like RJ and I like RJ's game. If they, if from a signability standpoint as he's contract, as he's extension eligible as we move along here, if they feel like they want to turn him into an asset, then that might be a guy that you consider,

that would, could be out there in the market you know you bring up an interesting point about quickly to whom much is given much is expected they have made a sizable significant investment in him just look at the percentage of salary cap he's going to eat up so I'm looking for him if you know everyone's talking about Ingram this Ingram that Scottie Barnes this guy no no quickly got a plan me in this league you better have a lead guard and that dude better be able to play 70 75 games he better be a killer and I tell you when I speak about killer you look at the NBA playoffs this year They're letting guys beat the heck out of each other on the perimeter

quickly's a little slight and I hope this summer he's getting stronger and a little bit more durable Because if they if if the league continues and they loosen the whistle a little bit if the league continues and they lose to the whistle a little bit uh... he's got to be able to play a lot more through contact and be a guy that can hold up over a long year place significant minutes and be that guy that's a good two-way player i love his talent

uh... but now you gotta get beyond the talent and you know the talent one thing it's productivity and availability that have to be there big time big time all right Jack we'll catch you on TSN Sports Center hey by the way speaking of availability I'm the only one here okay that's where the man productivity you guys are all bringing it you're a plus look forward to seeing you maybe in like three or four months

cannot wait we're gonna see you soon. Go Bills Have a great summer guys. Have a great summer There is Jack Armstrong joining us here ahead of the second round tonight the NBA draft and free agency right around the corner as well Seasoned gamer or just video game curious this week in gaming is the podcast for you We break down the latest in the world of video games, from basics to beyond. The hottest gaming news, insight and industry leaders, and more, weekly. Join me, Naomi Kyle, and stay ahead of the game with all the latest updates. Even if you're a total newbie.

Stream This Week in Gaming on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.