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Payne could translate well to NBA

Jim Brown/USA TODAY Sports

To help readers get to know top NBA draft prospects, Insider offers a 360-degree look at many of them in a concise and thorough scouting report featuring three expert perspectives: Kevin Pelton (analytics), Fran Fraschilla (scouting) and Chad Ford (NBA front offices). Here's a look at Cameron Payne.


WARP Projection: 2.1 (17th among players in top 100)
Comparables: Devin Harris (96.2), Patrick Mills (95.4), Shane Larkin (95.4), Kemba Walker (95.0)
Strengths: Shooting, Assist%, Block%, TO%
Weaknesses: 2P%, FTA%, PF%


The analytics perspective

The modern NBA point guard needs to be a threat to score and capable of setting up his teammates, which Payne balanced as a sophomore while leading Murray State to a 29-6 season marred only by a one-point loss in the Ohio Valley championship. Per Sports-Reference.com, Payne was one of three players in the country -- and the only underclassman -- to average at least 20 points (20.1) and five assists (6.0) per game. As Payne's comparables suggest, those skills figure to translate well to the NBA.