Elfrid Payton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Links: 2015, Randle, McDaniels

April 22nd, 2014 at 6:11pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The 2015 NBA Draft could be abound with promising big men, as Josh Newman and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv discuss. Among those already garnering attention are Duke-bound Jahlil Okafor, incoming Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander, and Kentucky-recruit Karl-Anthony Towns; all three are currently projected to be in the top five according to DraftExpress‘ 2015 mock draft. Other potential lottery prospects include Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, Florida’s Chris Walker, and top uncommitted center Myles Turner.

Here are some other draft-related links that we’ll pass along this evening:

Julius Randle has had high expectations as a top ranked college player and should still be among the notable names selected on draft night. With that being said, ESPN Draft experts Kevin Pelton, Amin Elhassan, and Chad Ford go over some of the limitations that may cause Randle to fall out of the top five.
Clemson product K.J. McDaniels has hired Rival Sports to represent him, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Draft prospects C.J. Wilcox, Gary Harris, and Elfrid Payton have signed with Creative Artists Agency, an NBA source tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
Former Michigan State standout Adreian Payne is among a trio of fellow projected lottery talents who have signed with agent Mark Bartelstein, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.

Elfrid Payton To Enter Draft

April 15th, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Louisiana Lafayette guard Elfrid Payton will enter the NBA Draft and sign with Aaron Mintz, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter). The 6’3 guard played a total of three seasons for the Ragin’ Cajuns, making considerable improvements in scoring every year. According to Haynes, Payton is projected to be selected in the first round. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress totes Payton as the 26th best prospect in this year’s draft, while ESPN’s Chad Ford lists him as No. 36.

In 2013/14, Payton averaged 19.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, and shot 50.9% from the field. In his one appearance in this year’s NCAA tournament, Payton posted 24 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks in 40 minutes en route to a second round loss against Creighton.

Draft Rumors: Payton, Baker, Walker

April 5th, 2014 at 12:04pm CST by Cray Allred

Oscar Robertson doesn’t agree with the league’s desire to increase the age limit for draft entry, telling Genaro C. Armas of The Associated Press that “one-and-done” players aren’t hurting the college game. “These colleges are greedy, man. They want to keep a kid … in school if they start to win,” Robertson said. “They want to keep them in school because it helps them — it helps the coach, it helps the winning percentage.” Here’s a roundup of more draft rumors:

Wichita State’s Ron Baker will return to school for his junior year, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Baker explored his draft potential before making the decision, and multiple NBA executives tell Goodman he would have been a second round pick had he chosen to declare for this year’s draft.
An NBA executive told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that Louisiana-Lafayette’s Elfrid Payton could go as high as the late teens in the draft should he declare. The junior hasn’t yet decided whether to forgo his last year of college to enter the draft.
Florida freshman Chris Walker says he will make a decision regarding this year’s draft after the Final Four, telling reporters including Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv he’s focused on the tournament for now. “I haven’t really been thinking about it,” Walker said. “I’m just thinking about winning this UConn game and staying in the moment and hopefully winning that and advance to the championship game. And then after the season, me and coach [Billy Donovan] will sit down and talk about everything and all the options.” Walker has been considered by many to be a premier 2015 draft prospect, so it would be interesting to see where he would stack up if he declared for this summer’s draft.
In a subscription-only piece, ESPN Insiders Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton look at the draft stocks for Shabazz Napier, Frank Kaminsky, and Patric Young, who are all playing for Final Four teams this weekend.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports discussed the draft prospects of Kentucky’s freshmen in a video from yesterday.
We profiled Doug McDermott earlier today.

Odds & Ends: Embiid, Bynum, Kings, Petro

January 17th, 2014 at 4:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Many talent evaluators around the NBA wish the talented but raw Joel Embiid would stay in school for another year, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who debates the freshman Kansas center with fellow ESPN.com scribe Kevin Pelton for an Insider-only piece. NBA teams usually want to see intriguing collegians enter the draft, so the stance on Embiid is an unusual one, as Ford explains. The 19-year-old is the No. 1 prospect on Ford’s Big Board. Here’s more from the Association:

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star doesn’t get the sense that the Pacers will sign Bynum just to keep him away from the Heat, but Kravitz believes Indiana should take a low-risk flier on the big man regardless of where he might otherwise end up.
An Eastern Conference scout didn’t think the trade that brought in Rudy Gay would go as well as it has for the Kings, telling Marc Stein of ESPN.com that the move has made the team “relevant again.”
Johan Petro announced via Twitter that he’s left the Guangsha Lions of China, so it appears he’s free to sign with any team (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The 27-year-old center spent each of the past eight seasons in the NBA.
The Bulls had next season in mind when they signed D.J. Augustin, but it’s unclear whether the team or the point guard will want to continue their relationship beyond 2013/14, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com writes in his latest mailbag column.
Former 11th overall pick Jerome Moiso has retired, reports L’Equipe (translation via Carchia). Moiso spent five seasons in the NBA after the Celtics drafted him in 2000. He finished last season with Piratas de Quebradillas in Puerto Rico.
Louisiana-Lafayette point guard Elfrid Payton is a fast riser in the eyes of many NBA teams, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Ford has the 6’4″ junior at No. 54 in his ESPN.com rankings, while Payton is No. 64 for Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.