Cameron Payne Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Upshaw, Russell, Payne, Young

May 18th, 2015 at 11:21am CST by Chuck Myron

Several NBA executives told Chris Mannix of SI.com they wouldn’t dare draft Robert Upshaw in the first-round, leading Mannix to conclude that it’s unlikely that any team guarantees the troubled center any salary. Two seasons of guaranteed salary come with the rookie scale contracts that go to first-round picks. People from three different teams with lottery picks told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that Upshaw would be a certain lottery pick if not for his troubles in the past, which have involved drugs, but none of those teams are willing to draft him that highly, Blakely adds. Upshaw, who tells Blakely that he’s working with Bill Walton, among other mentors, is 29th in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings but 38th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Here’s more on the draft, which takes place just a week and a month from tonight:

Multiple executives told Mannix for the same piece that they think D’Angelo Russell plans to accept workout invitations only from the teams that hold the top three picks. Mannix also cites multiple execs who told him that they believe former Kentucky sharpshooter Devin Booker will go within the top 10 picks.
Cameron Payne, who spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors, is quickly lifting his stock, having become a strong candidate for the lottery, according to Mannix. Rakeem Christmas, J.P. Tokoto and Jordan Mickey were standouts in the five-on-five drills at last week’s combine, Mannix adds.
Jabari Young of CSNNW.com adds the Blazers to the list of the teams that have interviewed Oregon shooting guard Joseph Young, and he’ll also be working out with Portland, as the CSNNW.com scribe has reported. Still, Young the writer suggests it’s nonetheless unlikely that the Blazers will end up drafting Young the player.

Northwest Notes: Freeland, Jazz, Draft

May 15th, 2015 at 9:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Center Joel Freeland can become a restricted free agent this summer if the Blazers tender him a qualifying offer worth $3,766,890, and Sean Meagher of the Oregonian, along with a panel of writers, runs down the case for the team to retain the big man. While Freeland’s numbers don’t stand out, he can be a solid backup when healthy, the panel notes. Working against Freeland is the fact that he is relatively easy to replace, though there is mutual interest in the 28-year-old returning to Rip City next season, the writers add.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz interviewed UNLV’s Christian Wood, Arizona’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Chris McCullough of Syracuse, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune relays in a series of tweets. Also scoring an interview with Utah was Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant, Jones adds.
Arizona forward Stanley Johnson is set to interview with representatives from the Jazz on Saturday, Jones tweets.
The Jazz also have an interest in Cameron Payne, and the team is expected to bring him in for an individual workout, Jones adds (Twitter link). Utah also wants to schedule individual workouts with Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky and Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre, Jones relays.
The Trail Blazers interviewed Arkansas’ Bobby Portis and Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, both forwards, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (Twitter links).
Duke point guard Tyus Jones met with the Timberwolves today, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Jones, who is a native of Minnesota, dished on his excitement about joining the NBA, Zgoda relays. “Every kid who plays basketball dreams it, but it’s one of those things that might not seem realistic,” Jones said. “You don’t necessarily see a lot of guys from Minnesota go to the NBA. Especially for me, being out of Apple Valley, it doesn’t seem like it’s possible. But it’s just one of those things: If you work hard, put your mind to something, you can do it. I’m proud to be from Apple Valley, Minnesota, and I’m very excited about this opportunity.”

Central Notes: Hoiberg, Pacers, Draft

May 15th, 2015 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The frontrunner to replace Tom Thibodeau if he is let go by the Bulls as expected, is reportedly Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg. This interest in Hoiberg isn’t a recent development, since according to league sources the team had already spoken with Hoiberg about his potential interest in coming to Chicago earlier this season, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays. It’s unclear if Hoiberg’s health concerns would prevent him from accepting the position if offered, but he certainly hopes to join the pro coaching ranks at some point. “He has always said from day one that his lifelong goal has been to coach in the NBA,” Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said of Holberg. “It’s for him to decide when that part of his life he wants to activate. Now it’s just strictly a decision for him and their family personally, not what he wants to do because he’s made that clear. [The NBA is] what he wants to do. It’s a matter of when he wants to do it.”

Here’s what else is happening around the Central Division:

The Pacers interviewed a number of former Kentucky players at the draft combine, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star tweets. Indiana sat down with Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Trey Lyles, and Devin Booker, Buckner notes.
Cauley-Stein said that Pacers president Larry Bird told him, “I think you’re a $100MM player,” Buckner relays (Twitter links). Booker wasn’t given a dollar value by the team, but did note that there was a “great vibe” during his interview, Buckner adds.
The Pacers will hold their first pre-draft workout this Monday, and in attendance will be Cameron Payne, Olivier Hanlan, Jerian Grant, Rakeem Christmas, Richaun Holmes, and Joseph Young, Buckner tweets.
Lastly from Buckner (via Twitter), the Pacers will be one of the teams attending a private workout in Los Angeles next Friday for forward Kevon Looney and guard Norman Powell.
Looney met with the Pistons while at the draft combine, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter links). Also meeting with Detroit was Booker, who believes his outside shooting would be the perfect complement to Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, who is set to become a restricted free agent this offseason, Langlois adds.

Thunder Notes: Anderson, Payne, Abrines

May 15th, 2015 at 2:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Virginia small forward Justin Anderson and Murray State sophomore Cameron Payne are among the players interviewing with the Thunder at this week’s combine, The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry reports (Twitter link). Payne, who spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors, and Anderson project as mid-to-late first-rounders, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. The Thunder will pick 14th unless they have astounding lottery luck, as the odds show, though after losing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and others for significant time this season, Oklahoma City might be due for a change in fortunes. Here’s more on the Thunder:

Thunder draft-and-stash prospect Alex Abrines has signed a deal with Barcelona of Spain that runs until 2019, reports Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo (translations via Jon Hamm of The Oklahoman and Enea Trapani of Sportando). Hamm suggests the deal includes a high-dollar NBA buyout clause. The shooting guard who was the 32nd overall pick from 2013 had been under contract only through 2016, as Mark Porcaro notes in our Draft Rights Held Players Database. The Jazz have shown interest, and he’s drawn raves for his play overseas.
What Enes Kanter gives the Thunder offensively is often negated on the defensive end, though he was a major force on the boards, as The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater examines. Regardless, the Thunder and their midseason trade acquisition have mutual interest in a new deal as the center hits restricted free agency this summer.
Steve Pierce of Daily Thunder stumps for the Thunder to hire ousted Pelicans coach Monty Williams as an assistant in large measure because of the similarities between Williams and former Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. Williams could help ease the transition in the locker room, Pierce argues, though it appears the Thunder would have competition for Williams from the Raptors and that Williams is more likely to wait for the next head coaching job to open, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported.

Draft Rumors: Porzingis, Wood, Dawson

May 15th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

At least one GM is among the multiple executives who believe Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis has a shot to be drafted as highly as No. 2, reports Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. The head of basketball ops for another team said that he’s a “lock” for the top five and that it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go within the top three, adding that he’d draft him in front of Jahlil Okafor, the Duke center who occupied the top spot in projections for most of the season. The 19-year-old is No. 5 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings and No. 8 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Here’s more as draft rumors kick into high gear:

Christian Wood, a power forward out of UNLV, is hoping to follow in Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s footsteps as a ball-handler with unusual height and length, Howard-Cooper writes in the same piece. The Bucks intend to interview Wood, Virginia small forward Justin Anderson and others today, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
Both the DraftExpress team and Ford go in depth on the measurements from the combine, with Ford, in his Insider-only piece, noting that most top prospects sized up well and that this year’s draft class is among the longest groups in memory in terms of both height and wingspan.
Michigan State power forward Branden Dawson has interviewed with the Wizards, Clippers and Pelicans at the draft combine, as he told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Ellis, in the same report, adds Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminsky and Rashad Vaughn to the list of prospects with whom the Pistons have spoken.
Terry Rozier met with the Pistons, too, as well as the Mavs, Suns, Knicks and Spurs, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
The Sixers, Lakers, Cavs and Bucks have interviewed Cameron Payne, Kyler also tweets. Payne spoke with our Zach Links recently about his draft prospects.
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds the Hornets and Warriors to the list of teams speaking with Rakeem Christmas (Twitter link).

Q&A With Lottery Hopeful Cameron Payne

May 8th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Zachary Links

Throughout the spring and summer, Hoops Rumors will be talking with some of the most intriguing prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft. The Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series continues with Murray State guard Cameron Payne, whom Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks No. 15 in this year’s class and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress rates 20th.

Cameron Payne’s individual stats are impressive: he averaged 20.2 points and 5.7 assists while shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc in 2014/15. Perhaps more impressive than that, however, is that Payne helped lead Murray State to a 25-game winning streak in his final year on campus.

In a draft with several intriguing point guards, Payne is one of the very best in the bunch and quickly rising up draft boards. The Murray State star made his mark in his freshman year and took another seismic leap forward this season in his sophomore year, cementing himself as a first-round talent who could very well prove to be a lottery pick. Payne, a client of Relativity Sports agent Travis King, spoke with Hoops Rumors earlier this week about his NBA future.

Zach Links: We first heard that you were probably going pro towards the end of March. When did you first really start leaning toward entering the draft?

Cameron Payne: For me, the possibility of it became very real after the [Ohio Valley Conference tournament semifinal] game we played against Morehead State. Afterwards, I heard from a lot of people there that I played a great game (Payne led the way with 25 points) and I felt like, man, this would be a perfect time for me to make the jump.

ZL: Were you pretty much off the national recruiting radar coming out of high school?

CP: Well, the team I played on in AAU, we had a lot of big-name players and I came off the bench, so I might have been overshadowed at the time. I just played my role there and then I got the opportunity to play at Murray State. They were the first school to recruit me and everything worked out for the best. It was a great fit for me. I became a better player at Murray State and now it looks like I’m going to get drafted pretty early.

ZL: You’ve had NBA scouts at your games for a long time now. Did you ever find it hard to stay focused on the task at hand rather than look ahead to the NBA?

CP: Not really, because I was so focused on winning and focused on trying to get our school and our team exposure in the tournament. I’m 20 [years old] and getting this attention, so I was definitely thinking about it, but all in all it was about winning as a team because the more that we won, the more attention we all got. It was all about my team and Murray State, so I wasn’t worried during the season.

ZL: When word came out that you would be going pro, you were projected as a fringe or late first-round pick. Since then, you’ve been steadily climbing up those mock drafts. What do you attribute that to?

CP: I think people are starting to watch me, that’s what I think it is, because, before then, no one really watched me. They would just see me on ESPN here and there. They’d say, “He’s pretty good and he got his team pretty far,” but after the season, people were starting to watch game film on me and seeing what kind of person and player I am on and off the court. Everything is working out for the best in the end because, man, I’ve moved up now from being a late first-round guy to earlier; some say I’ll go in the lottery.

ZL: Elfrid Payton was another underclassman out of a small school last year who shot up draft boards in similar fashion. Have you been hearing his name brought up to you a lot?

CP: I’ve definitely heard that a few times now. Elfrid came out of a mid-major and so am I. He was a late first type that climbed up the same way I’m climbing up.

ZL: Coming out of high school, what other colleges were you considering before committing to Murray State?

CP: I definitely considered Wichita State. It was between Wichita State and Murray State and, at the end, I chose to stay a little closer to home. Murray came at me early and they were close enough for my family to come see me play.

ZL: Do you think that going to a smaller school gave you a better chance to develop than a bigger school might have?

CP: Yeah, it did give me a better platform. At Murray State, I was getting minutes as a freshman; they let me mature and play through mistakes and at a mid-major they allow you to do that. It helped me grow as a player. My coach told me that I grew up faster than he ever expected me to and I think that’s because of all of the in-game experience I got.

ZL: What have you improved on since you first arrived on campus?

CP: I’ve improved on my decision making. I know that my shot selection was a problem in my freshman year and in my sophomore year that improved so much. My defense has also gotten much better because I was only 165 pounds as a freshman.

ZL: What’s your weight right now?

CP: I’m 186 pounds but still trying to get bigger. I want to be at least around 190 or 195 [pounds].

ZL: Would you say you’re a leader on the court?

CP: Absolutely. I’m a leader and I’m a selfless teammate. I want to win so bad and anything I can do to help my team win, that’s what I’ll do. If it means giving my teammate the ball because he’s hot, I’m going to keep feeding him. When it comes to being a leader, you know, I can’t be out there messing around because I’m setting the example for everyone else.

ZL: What would you say your greatest strength is on the floor?

CP: This goes back to my leadership ability, but I feel like I can have a big impact on the court, with or without the ball in my hands. I’m a really good talker and I can keep everybody involved in the game.

ZL: What NBA point guard, past or present, would you compare yourself to?

CP: He’s not a point guard but growing up I wanted to be like Kobe Bryant. That’s my guy, but I grew into a different kind of player. I think Tony Parker would be the best to compare me to if you were to compare me to someone. We do the same thing. He gets the teammates involved, he wins; that’s the main thing I like about him.

ZL: Do you have an idea as to where you’ll be drafted? What’s your floor and what’s your ceiling?

CP: To be honest, I think my ceiling … I haven’t really seen the top of it yet. I think it can really rise past even [No.] 11 or 12, but from looking at the board, i could see myself going 11 to 25 because a lot of teams in the draft can use a point guard and I’d be a perfect fit for most or all of them. I’ve worked hard to put myself in a great situation and I’m gonna work as hard as I can to move up. My goal is to get up to [No.] 7, 8, or 9. Where ever I go, though, I’ll be happy. My goal is just to get to shake the commissioner’s hand. That’s always been my dream.

ZL: Why was Travis King and the Relativity Sports agency the right fit for you?

CP: I kind of knew Travis a little bit before this NBA stuff started happening. He’s a really good guy. I like the agency and the program. They’re very loyal to their players and they’re very trustworthy. They’ve done a great job with their players and knowing Travis a bit just made it an even easier decision for me.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Coaches, Jokic, Payne, Draft

May 7th, 2015 at 1:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most of the college coaches who’ve come into the NBA over the past two decades have either left basketball schools that gave them wide autonomy, joined NBA teams with little hope of success, or both, observes Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated. Brad Stevens doesn’t fit either category, and neither does new Thunder hire Billy Donovan, Taylor argues, suggesting that the success Stevens has found with the Celtics is an auspicious omen for Donovan and a signal that more college coaches are on their way to the league. In any case, Stevens is the only college head coach to jump directly to the NBA since 2000 to guide his NBA team to the playoffs, as I pointed out. Here’s more from around the Association:

The Nuggets are expected to sign 2014 second-round pick Nikola Jokic prior to summer league in July, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. It’s not entirely clear whether the deal will cover only summer league or will formally bring the 6’11” draft-and-stash prospect onto the roster for training camp in the fall. However, the Nuggets are anxious to see last year’s 41st overall pick compete against NBA-caliber talent, Dempsey writes. The 20-year-old center averaged 14.9 points and 9.0 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game this season for KK Mega Vizura in his native Serbia.
It’s Murray State point guard Cameron Payne‘s dual threat of scoring and passing that truly distinguishes him as a top prospect, but his ability to perform on defense is a question mark, as Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress examine. Givony ranks Payne as the 20th-best draft hopeful.
Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com, in an Insider-only piece, debate the avenues the Nuggets, Heat, Pacers and Jazz have to improve via the draft, sharing conflicting viewpoints on whether it would behoove Utah to spend a third consecutive lottery pick on a point guard.

Draft Notes: Harley, Brown, Payne

April 15th, 2015 at 4:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

French swingman Kévin Harley is entering this year’s draft, agent Olivier Mazet announced via Twitter (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The 20-year-old is the 17th-best overseas prospect born in 1994, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, but he’s otherwise unranked by either Givony or Ford. That suggests there’s a strong chance that Harley will withdraw by June 15th, the deadline for international prospects to do so, though that’s just my speculation.

Here’s more new regarding the 2015 NBA draft:

Stanford senior guard Anthony Brown has hired agent Sam Goldfeder of Excel Sports Management, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. DraftExpress.com ranks Brown as the No. 41 overall prospect and ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) places him 61st.
Murray State sophomore Cameron Payne has hired Travis King of Relativity Sports as his agent, Goodman reports (Twitter link). Payne is the No. 22 ranked prospect by both Ford and Givony.
In a separate article Ford (Insider subscription required) ran down the 10 best international prospects in this year’s draft, including Emmanuel Mudiay, Kristaps Porzingis, and Zhou Qi.
Derek Bodner of USA Today looks at a number of early draft entrants and if they made the correct decision to leave school. You can review the full list of early entrants for the 2015 NBA draft here.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Wolves, Monroe, Noel

April 7th, 2015 at 10:04pm CST by Will Joseph

After the season, Chase Budinger’s contract with the Timberwolves will be down to one year at $5MM and Kevin Martin’s deal will go to two years for $14.4MM, making it easier for Minnesota to find trade partners for both players this summer, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. The Wolves were exploring ways to deal both players, as previous reports indicated and as Deveney confirms. There were conflicting reports about Minnesota’s willingness to trade Martin, but while coach/executive Flip Saunders likes him and won’t give him up easily, the Wolves aren’t expecting significant return for either Martin or Budinger, according to Deveney. In the same story, Deveney notes that the Wolves’ biggest question mark heading into the summer is if Saunders will remain coach or return to solely a front office role.

Here’s more from around the league:

Speaking of the Wolves, they came pretty close to originally signing Arinze Onuaku back in mid-January, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets, but Minnesota instead went with Miroslav Raduljica, who played five games with the team. The Wolves officially inked Onuaku earlier today, a few months later.
Kevin Seraphin, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, told J. Michael of CSNWashington.com that he is adjusting to his smaller role within the second unit. He hasn’t scored more than 12 points in a game since January 19th. The big man said in January that he would like to re-sign with Washington.
Reggie Jackson’s production increased and the Pistons played well without Greg Monroe, who will become an unrestricted free agent after the season, but the team is determined to make things work with the big man expected back on the court Wednesday, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. The Pistons were 7-4 without Monroe. Jackson is a restricted free agent this summer and it’s a distinct possibility that the Pistons will match any potential offer he receives from a different team, so it is much more likely that he is with Detroit next season than Monroe is, Mayo adds.
Cameron Payne, who announced Monday he will enter the draft fresh off finishing up his sophomore season with Murray State, has signed with agent Travis King of Relativity Sports, HoopsHype tweets.
Sixers rookie Nerlens Noel has quickly emerged as one of the league’s top big men because of his defensive efficiency, Wesley Share of RealGM.com writes. Noel, unlike many other rookies who were drafted in the first round, will hit free agency in 2017, and not 2018, because he signed his rookie scale contract before sitting out the entire 2013/14 season with an injury.

Cameron Payne To Enter NBA Draft

April 6th, 2015 at 3:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 3:48pm: Payne is indeed entering the draft, he announced at a press conference today, as KFVS-TV relays.

FRIDAY, 4:15pm: Murray State sophomore guard Cameron Payne plans to enter the 2015 NBA draft, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Payne is working toward hiring an agent and formalizing a decision with an expected announcement to come after the NCAA Final Four, Wojnarowski’s sources tell him. Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) lists Payne as the No. 23 overall prospect, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pegs the guard at 32nd overall.

Some NBA executives from teams expected to pick in the draft lottery told Wojnarowski that they anticipate Payne to be a prospect they will consider selecting in those slots, though most draft projections have Payne listed as a mid-first-rounder. Several NBA executives are comparing his possible climb in the first round to that of Magic guard Elfrid Payton, another smaller school underclassman who rose all the way to the 10th selection in the 2014 draft, the Yahoo! scribe adds.

Payne appeared in 69 games in two seasons for Murray State. The 6’2″ guard’s career numbers are 18.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 32.4 minutes per game. His career shooting numbers are .432/.359/.781.