2015 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Cameron Payne

Cameron Payne (PG), Murray State Racers

2014-15 statistics: 20.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.7 RPG on 45.6% FG, 37.7% 3PT, 78.7% FT

Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Background

Cameron Payne was an underwhelming three-star recruit at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee when he committed to Murray State. The program’s best player, Isaiah Canaan, was on his way to the NBA after a four year college career, and Payne was set to fill the big shoes left by his departure.

Perhaps nobody could have predicted it, but Payne started every game from the first jump ball his freshman season, leading the Racers arguably as well as Canaan had.

Payne didn’t shy away from the challenge. As a sophomore, he led Murray State to a perfect Ohio Valley Conference record during the regular season. Behind his contributions, the Racers found themselves in the top 25 near the end of the season and were one win away from the NCAA Tournament.

Murray State made it to the championship game of the conference tournament before suffering a heartbreaking loss to a well-coached Belmont team. Payne and his teammates allowed the Bruins to hit far too many threes, which ultimately lead to the Racers demise. Instead of heading to the Big Dance, the Racers were disappointed to end their season playing in the NIT.

Payne made the most of his time as a Racer thanks in large part to up-and-coming head coach Steve Prohm, who gave him the freedom he needed to find his stride. The crafty point guard has set himself up to be a potential lottery pick because of his vast skill set and tremendous poise.

Shooting

Payne possesses a smooth left-handed jumper, and his long arms coupled with a high release make it easy for him to get his shot off over most defenders. He turns his body slightly towards the rim and kicks his legs forward, forcing his shoulders back and giving him a natural form.

As a sophomore, Payne attempted 6.4 threes a game and converted them at a 37.7 percent clip. Versatility is largely what makes Payne such a dangerous shooter. He’s comfortable creating a shot for himself in transition or in the pick and roll, and he’s equally capable curling off of down screens and spotting up on the wing. 58 percent of his 3-point makes were assisted last season, showing decent balance in the way his perimeter shots were created.

In transition, Payne has a propensity to look for his own shot first. 30.5 percent of his total 3-point attempts came in transition, and a whopping 39.9 percent of his transition opportunities came from behind the arc.

Although Payne is quick to pull the trigger in transition and is capable of hitting big shots (as he did against Belmont in the conference tournament championship game), the numbers shed light on a bigger issue: shot selection. Payne only connected on 30.9 percent of his transition threes, nowhere close to his great overall average. If he isn’t having a good shooting night, he tends to force the issue out of frustration.

He’s capable of shots like this:

But he’s equally capable of shots like this, too:

Forcing the issue could be a product of Payne being tasked to do everything at Murray State. Nevertheless, bad shot selection is something that will need to be addressed by whichever team drafts him.

Driving

While at Murray State, driving often seemed like a distant second option for Payne, but his team’s offensive system didn’t do him any favors. Murray State typically had two traditional bigs on the floor at the same time, clogging up the post and closing off driving lanes for Payne.

The design of Murray State’s offense wasn’t Payne’s sole issue on drives, though — his slender frame has always been a detriment. At 6-2 and 183 pounds, Payne won’t likely ever be able to bully his way to the rim. He doesn’t have an explosive burst to blow by his defender, and his average athleticism makes life all the more difficult on drives to the rim.

An average athlete with a thin frame, Payne is forced to come up with creative solutions to create off the dribble. He is masterful at changing pace, catching the defense off guard, and getting to his spot before softly floating the ball into the basket.

It’s fair to wonder if craftiness will be enough at the next level. When Payne feels contact at the rim, his shot is often thrown off enough to cause a miss. He’s not great at using his body to shield himself and maintain balance, and he doesn’t go strong into his defender’s body to draw a foul nearly as often as he should.

There have been slight guards who have had success at the next level, but an NBA strength and conditioning program should do Payne a great deal of good.

Passing

For all of Payne’s tremendous abilities, his court vision might be his greatest attribute. He’s incredibly unselfish, and knows how to spread out a defense before feeding a teammate for an easy bucket. He has a great feel for the game, understanding when to push the ball ahead and when to slow things down to set up the offense.

Payne doesn’t often make a bad pass, which is amazing considering how many times he threads the needle on a game-to-game basis. He posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.4:1 his sophomore season, and assisted on 40 percent of the Racers’ shots while he was on the floor.

One of the main reasons the Racers shot the three ball so well was because Payne recognized when the defense was cheating too much towards him. He promptly executed a crosscourt bullet pass or a simple kick to the corner on the strong side for an open 3-pointer.

Payne’s play as a passer in the pick and roll will help ease his transition to the NBA. He’s able to thread the ball through narrow windows, and he understands angles that enable him to get the ball to the roller heading to the basket with ease.

He can be Rondo-esque at times by being too unselfish with the ball, but his teammates always execute their actions at full speed because they know their hard work will be rewarded. It’s rare for a player who is such an amazing, unselfish passer to also be a good shooter, which is why the combination makes Payne so attractive to NBA teams.

Defense

Payne possesses all of the tools to be a solid defender in the Association. He’s not a particularly tenacious defender, but he has the lateral quickness necessary to keep guards in front of him and adequate length (6-7 wingspan) to bother shots.

His slight frame caused him to struggle at times when defending ball screens in college, and he got knocked down on hard picks more than one would hope. When he didn’t run directly into screens, Payne struggled to fight over them. He has yet to learn how to use his frame to his advantage, making himself smaller and lower to the ground to help him stick with the ball handler around screens.

Effort is the biggest issue for Payne defensively. He often checks out, not pressuring his man like he should, and can be an unwilling help defender unless he truly thinks he can come away with a steal.

Quick hands enabled him to average nearly two steals a game as a sophomore. He has good timing when digging down on post players and stripping the ball loose from driving guards. It’s hard to say how good he is at jumping passing lanes — he did not do it often at Murray State, but that could be related to effort.

Overall

Payne can do just about everything on the court, but there are concerns about his frame and the competition he faced in college that will likely persist up to draft day. His game is full of sexy tools, but answering questions about how all of the tools will translate to the next level is the current challenge he faces.

The NBA isn’t the Ohio Valley Conference, but Payne, once an unsought recruit out of high school, is no stranger to challenges. It’s hard to envision him not rising to the occasion.