Why Cameron Payne Makes Sense For Oklahoma City Thunder To Draft

Come the end of June, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be more focused on the draft than they arguably have been over the last few years, as the team has an important lottery pick that could turn into a key piece for the team down the road.

Sitting with the 14th pick in the draft, the Thunder are in an interesting position. Do they try to go after someone who could potentially slide into the starting lineup with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, or do they look to add to their bench and improve their overall depth?

Fortunately, if they get this pick right, they could actually do both at the same time.

In order to do that, they must choose former Murray State point guard Cameron Payne.

Payne has been a little undervalued to this point because he played in a weaker conference in college, but that shouldn’t take away from his emerging game.

If he can become a lottery pick, then he will have been the third point guard in recent memory that experienced a significant bump in his draft stock late in the season and into the workout period. The other two point guards that come to mind are Damian Lillard and Elfrid Payton, and each of them have had success in their limited time in the league.

Payne’s greatness stems from his ability to control the tempo on offense and serve as a versatile weapon on that end of the floor.

Standing at around 6-foot-1 and weighing 180 pounds, his physical build and measurements, along with his lefty handle, resemble that of Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley when he was in college, and I actually believe he’s the best player comparison for Payne because of how they play and see the game.

Conley is one of the best in the NBA at controlling a game from the point guard position and being able to slow things down or speed them up on both ends of the floor. When I watch tape of Payne, I see those same qualities, as he doesn’t seem to be rattled too often by opposing defenses.

Payne just knows how to play the game of basketball, be it knowing how to pick his spots to score or playing different styles of the passing game. His ability to operate in both a fast-paced offense relying on a lot of long passes up the court or a halfcourt game predicated on the pick-and-roll game, Payne can do it all.

In terms of scoring the basketball, Payne is already a much better shooter from the outside than Conley was in college, and can finish almost as well as him inside with his variety of layups and floater shots. Where Payne can really become Conley’s equal is developing a floater with his off-hand, but he should be able to do that in time in the league.

Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table
Generated 5/22/2015.

As you can see in the tables above, with Payne’s statistics being first and Conley’s second, a lot of their numbers are relatively similar, especially in terms of distributing the basketball, foul shooting and steals. Payne was asked to do a lot more with scoring the basketball in college than Conley, but Conley had his moments back at Ohio State.

With all of that being said, the Thunder would be wise to look at this comparison and make Payne one of their top draft targets.

Not only could he come off the bench and serve as Westbrook’s primary back-up, but if Westbrook were to leave in free agency in two years, Oklahoma City could groom Payne as the future starter in the meantime. Just ask Memphis about Conley’s game. Payne is very similar and could become just as good if not better, and that’s certainly enough to be a starter in the league today.

Sure there are other players that could fill a need, such as a shooter like Devin Booker, but as a short and long-term answer, there really isn’t a better option than Payne for the Thunder. His control over the game could give them a different look off the bench and a potential starter in the future.

Next: Why Durant Needs To Stay With The Thunder

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