In its first season of the post-Zach Edey era, the Purdue basketball team largely exceeded expectations but ultimately collapsed in the Sweet Sixteen with a heartbreaking loss to Houston. Without a clear sense of direction on the team's immediate future, Matt Painter is forced to bring the Boilermakers back to title contention through the college basketball transfer portal.

The team's two biggest stars, Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, have yet to clarify their next decisions. Both players have one year of eligibility remaining but could potentially enter the 2025 NBA Draft. However, neither would be considered first-round picks of the upcoming draft, making it likely both return to West Lafayette in the fall.

Even if Smith and Kaufman-Renn both return, Painter will still have to replace a good amount of his 2024-2025 team. Although Purdue is typically known for its high retention rate in the college basketball transfer portal era, four rotational players have already confirmed their departures. Caleb Furst is the lone player who exhausted his eligibility, while Camden Heide, Myles Colvin and Will Berg all entered the transfer portal.

Should Smith and Kaufman-Renn confirm their returns, Purdue will immediately be ranked among the top preseason title contenders. But without a solid confirmation, Painter still has a chance to keep the Boilermakers in that conversation with a few key transfer portal additions. With the commitment of Oscar Cluff, Purdue already has one big portal addition in its back pocket. The Boilermakers just need a few more to begin the season with reasonable expectations.

Matt Painter loves his big men, and Darrion Williams is the best one available. After a heroic run with Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament, Williams entered his name into the portal after two seasons in Lubbock. Coming off a first-team All-Big 12 season, Williams would fit right into Painter's team.

If Kaufman-Renn decides to leave, Williams would be the man in the middle and the focal point of the offense. But in a more likely scenario, he would instead pair with the 2025 third-team All-American to form arguably the best frontcourt in the country. A Williams and Kaufman-Renn duo down low would easily lead one of the most physical teams in the Big 10.

While Painter loves to play two big men anyway, Williams' shooting ability would open up the offense, allowing Kaufman-Renn to control the paint. Though he hit just 34 percent of his three-point attempts as a junior, Williams connected on 45.8 percent of his shots from deep in his first year at Texas Tech. The pick-and-pop potential with Williams and Smith would easily make an already efficient offense one of the best in the nation.

What could truly sell Williams on a move to Purdue would be the prospect of playing with a point guard like Smith. As one of the best facilitators in college basketball, Smith would easily be the best playmaker Williams would play with in his career. Big men love nothing more than sharing the court with a quality ball handler, and Smith is easily one of the best in Division I.

Though Smith's size prevents him from being a bona fide top NBA prospect, he has still done enough to hear his name called at the 2025 NBA Draft if he decides to declare. All signs point to him finishing out his career at Purdue, but there is not much more he can do to bolster his draft stock if that is indeed his career goal.

If Smith leaves, Matt Painter would indisputably need a new point guard. Losing an All-American is never easy to replace, but Princeton's Xaivian Lee would be an excellent consolation prize. Had Princeton beaten Yale in the Ivy League Tournament and advanced to March Madness, there is a very real chance Lee would have been the tournament hero.

As a junior, Lee blossomed into an all-around contributor, averaging 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. For the second consecutive season, his shooting also improved, hitting 36.3 percent of his threes in 2024-2025.

Whenever Painter's teams are the most successful, he has an elite playmaker running point. If Smith does decide to leave, that will be a sizeable hole for him to fill. As arguably the best playmaker left in the college basketball transfer portal, Lee would be a tremendous addition for Purdue. He has all the tools needed to succeed against a higher level of competition.

In his four years of college basketball, Jamir Watkins has improved his scoring numbers each season. His supporting numbers have grown each season as well, but most of his value still comes as a scorer. With Caleb Furst, Camden Heide and Myles Colvin leaving, Matt Painter and Purdue have several holes to fill at forward in the college basketball transfer portal.

Though Watkins is not the best shooter, hitting just 32.1 percent from behind the arc in 2024-2025, his slashing play style would fit in seamlessly next to Smith and Fletcher Loyer. Purdue has lacked a true athletic scoring wing since Jaden Ivey left in 2022. Adding that factor back into this offense would take it to an entirely new level.

As prolific as Watkins is as a scorer, he is also an adept defender known for his pesky length. Perimeter defense is an area in which Purdue struggled in 2024-2025. Adding a two-way player like Watkins, who can switch any position one through five, would do wonders in bringing the team back to title contention.

A player like Watkins, who has already entered and withdrawn from the NBA Draft, seems to like having the ball in his hands and room to operate. Playing with a Bob Cousy Award-winning point guard would not give him that flexibility. But if Watkins' goal is to win a national title, he might have his best chance to do so at Purdue.

So far, Zaon Collins' brief, two-year college basketball career has not gone according to plan. After being the defendant in a deadly car crash case, he was given a chance to rebound at Fresno State. Despite averaging an impressive 12.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, a betting scandal nearly derailed his career for a second time.

After everything he endured in his lone season in Fresno, Collins entered the college basketball transfer portal hoping to revive his once highly-touted career. His checkered past may scare some teams away, but if Collins is willing to accept a backup role, he would be the perfect sixth man to a contending team.

With Smith having no more than one year remaining with the Boilermakers, Collins could set himself up to be Matt Painter's point guard of the future. Though he prepares for his junior year academically, he still has three years of NCAA eligibility remaining. One year as a stout backup in West Lafayette, followed by two more as a high-level point guard in the Big 10, would put him back on the NBA radar. With his play style, few landing spots would be better for Collins than committing to Purdue from the college basketball transfer portal.

Furst's departure is not a noticeable one on paper, but it will hurt Purdue more than it might seem upon initial glance. Furst's physicality and tenacity on the glass paired perfectly with Kaufman-Renn in the frontcourt, opening up a void Matt Painter will have to address.

If it is not a player like Darrion Williams, Purdue would benefit most from replacing Furst's production with a physical forward like Prince Aligbe. In his lone season at Seton Hall, Aligbe posted a career-high 7.8 points per game to go with 3.6 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game. The numbers do not jump off the page, but Aligbe is the exact type of glue player every championship team needs.

Adding Aligbe would not make headlines, but it would be a move that could pay off in March. Though he has never averaged double digits, Aligbe has started 74 of his 94 career games across two seasons with Boston College and one with Seton Hall. Next to Smith and Kaufman-Renn, Painter does not need to add much scoring in the portal. However, sneaking in a player like Aligbe from the college basketball transfer portal would be instrumental for Purdue.