OKLAHOMA CITY -- A few thoughts on the Oklahoma City Thunder's first-round selection in the 2015 NBA Draft.
The pick: Cameron Payne, guard, Murray State
My take: Weeks before the draft, there was speculation around the league the Thunder had made a draft promise to Payne, should he fall to them. And with the dominoes falling in place, Payne was available at 14 overall for the Thunder, and they took him. There were other intriguing options on the board like Kansas wing Kelly Oubre, Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker and Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant. But it was Payne whom the Thunder settled on, largely because of a need at the point guard position, both in the present and the future. They only have two point guards on the roster, with D.J. Augustin being a free agent after next season. Payne gives the Thunder some future depth, while also allowing him to develop in their strong system.
Payne is a smooth left-handed guard, but a tad undersized for what the Thunder typically prefer. Defense is a concern, and he needs to get stronger. But he has a unique feel for the game, and can certainly score. Payne has some growing to do in Oklahoma City, but the Thunder just added more talent to their already impressive cupboard full of it.
By the numbers: At Murray State, which plays in the very small Ohio Valley Conference, Payne averaged 20.3 points per game on 45 percent shooting (37.3 percent from 3). He dished out 6.0 assists per game (15th overall in the nation) to 2.6 turnovers. Payne was ranked 20th in the nation in PER, with an impressive 28.7 mark. He had a 39.5 assist percentage, which was best overall in this draft class. While a little undersized, he has good defensive instincts (2.1 steals per 40 minutes). go
No trade options: The Thunder explored trading the pick, considering their current roster and what their needs were. There were only a handful of players they were interested in keeping the pick to use on, and Payne was one of them. Still: Had they found an attractive trade to move out of the first round, they were going to be interested. Instead, they used their lottery pick on Payne and will add him in to the roster spot recently created by trading Jeremy Lamb for Luke Ridnour's contract and a future second-round pick.
