Three point guards from the same family walked downstairs at Devon Tower in Oklahoma City. The youngest, Cameron Payne, kept strolling to the podium as his father and brother sat down in the first row to watch Thunder General Manager and Executive Vice President Sam Presti introduce the newest member of the Thunder.
The young man who learned everything about the game from the two older men in his family sat proudly as he heard Presti describe that the skills they taught him had translated into him earning his childhood dream – to play in the NBA.
“We were thinking about someone who would be a great fit not only for our team, organization and community, but had the right makeup to come into this stage of the team that we’re in right now,” Presti said.
Presti heads the staff of diligent, hard-working men and women behind the scenes who helped get Payne to Oklahoma City, as the team drafted him with the 14th overall selection in Thursday night’s NBA Draft. After Presti described all of the on-and-off court reasons why Payne was exactly what they were looking for in this draft and the duo showed off a number 22 Thunder jersey with “Payne” on the back, it was the Murray State point guard’s turn to address his new team, his new fans and the media.
“It’s a lifelong dream. I’m happy and I’m proud to be here,” Payne said. “This is a great organization that I’m happy to be a part of. I feel that it fits me perfectly. Coming from a small school, I’m going into a great situation. There’s a great staff here and I’m looking forward to getting to know the guys. There’s a great new coach and a great owner. I wouldn’t want it any other way than to be a part of the Oklahoma City Thunder.”
This wasn’t the first time Payne had been to Oklahoma City, however. During a rare opportunity in the pre-draft process that includes countless workouts and relentless travel, Payne was able to spend about 36 hours with team officials, players and coaches.
“When I first got here, I saw Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant,” Payne described. “That was a big time plus right off the rip. They greeted me by my name.”
Payne had the chance to sit down with Presti, new head coach Billy Donovan and go through a light workout with Thunder staff. The team was prepared with tape of Payne’s collegiate games and was already able to give the quick, unselfish playmaker some feedback about his game - both what they liked and some areas for improvement. It wasn’t just at the INTEGRIS Thunder Development Center where the Thunder, and Oklahoma City, impressed Payne.
“We went to go see the Memorial. Sam was telling me a lot of things about what the city is about,” he continued. “It’s crazy what happened on that day at 9:02. This city, and what they do for the Thunder is great. The whole city comes together and they come every night to watch the Thunder play.”
The character that Payne displayed during his two years at Murray State was very attractive to the Thunder. He opted to stay at a small school whose entire town rallies behind the basketball team despite opportunities to leave to go to a bigger program, giving him a connection to a place like Oklahoma City where the fans come out in droves to support the team.
He’ll be playing on the floor at Chesapeake Energy Arena in addition to spending time in the community, and the Thunder is confident that his abilities will translate nicely not just to the NBA, but to the team as assembled. As a point guard that likes to get teammates involved but still has the ability to create scoring opportunities for himself, Payne will get the chance to learn from both Westbrook and D.J. Augustin, two players with unique, complementary skill sets.
“As a player, he’s incredibly cerebral. He understands space on the floor, he understands angles and he understands time,” Presti explained. “All of those things that are really hard to teach, he has them intuitively.”
“There will always be a transition period, but he has the resiliency, the perseverance and the character to want to go up and get better,” Donovan said. “The biggest thing with him is that he has great vision. He understands the vision and understands how to play.”
As Donovan mentioned, there will still be areas to improve, but that’s not something that Payne will shy away from. He has shown himself to be a player who attacks his work and has the humility to accept that he must get better in certain aspects of the game.
Offensively, Payne is extremely gifted and on defense he has the length along the perimeter to get into passing lanes and bother opposing guards. Getting stronger and continuing to work on the finer points on both ends of the floor will be ways he can utilize his summer in Oklahoma City productively in order to be prepared for the rigors of the 2015-16 campaign.
“Getting into the weight room and getting a little bit bigger will help my game out a lot. I’ll be able to attack more and be more explosive,” Payne said. “I’m just ready to get to work. I have a wide wingspan but getting into the weight room will help a lot.”
After his press conference ended, Payne got right to work on the court – this time helping out young children with their game as he immediately began giving back to the local community. At The Cage, just across the street from Devon Tower and a block away from where he’ll be playing home games next season, Payne helped show some Oklahoma City youth proper shooting form and taught them perhaps the most important lesson that he’s used in his career: to believe in themselves.
“I love seeing little kids work on their game,” Payne said. “I was in those same shoes a couple years ago. It is fun to come out, see them and help them out a little bit. It’s about confidence, even if you don’t make the shot. You still come back like you’re going to make the next one. If you miss one, keep your head up.”