Cameron Payne Q&A

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The Thunder selected Murray State guard Cameron Payne with the 14th overall pick. He spoke briefly with the media via a conference call following the first round Thursday. Here’s a transcript:

What was the whole draft night experience like for you?

“It was crazy. When I heard my name called, a lot of things went through my head, like, ‘Man, Cam, you finally did what you always dreamed of.’ Just a great moment that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

What do you think you can learn from Russell Westbrook?

“He’s definitely going to make me a better player. He loves to compete and I love to compete. We’re going to go at it. I’m definitely going to try my best and all I can to make him a better player and I mean, he’s already an All-Star so he’s going to make me a better player right off the bat. I’m looking forward to it.”

What did the Thunder like about your game?

“They really liked my feel of the game and man, how I can fit into the offense. They’re really into the run and gun and I’ve been doing that all my life so I think I can definitely come in and be an impact player right away.”

Some of the guys that evaluated you as a player talked about how good you are in screen and roll basketball. How influential was that do you think in the Thunder liking you like they did?

“I think they did a great job of analyzing me. I think they knew more about me than I knew about myself. They cracked my game down to the T. They’ve already made me a better player. They already threw me into the film room and put me to the test already and I’m just looking forward to keep doing it.”

You’ve talked about coming in with a chip on your shoulder. How do you think that’ll help your game coming into your rookie year?

“I think that’ll help my game a lot. I’m always down to work and I’m always down to keep working. I don’t have a ceiling, where I’ve done did it or I’m done working. Every day it’s something new I can add to my game and I’m just going to keep doing it. Me coming from a mid-major, I’ve never been given anything so I’m going to keep working to get everything I got because there’s going to be someone else fighting for the position I am, so that’s going to keep me working every day.”

A lot of times when you go in the lottery you expect to go to a team that’s going to struggle but you’re going to one that could be in the title mix. What’s that like, joining a team with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka?

“I’m blessed to be part of an organization that’s definitely going to be in the playoffs this coming year. Me being a part of that, it’ll be great. I feel you guys picked a great player to be a part of that and if I can be a big time impact on a playoff team. I’m looking forward to being one of the guys to have an impact on that team. I mean, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, those are great player, Dion Waiters, Augustin, man I could name all of them. It’ll just be great to be a part of that and the organization and I can’t wait to get started.”

Is there anyone in particular that you think your game most resembles in the NBA right now?

“It would definitely be Mike Conley. I feel my game is pretty much similar. We’re both left-handed and we both like to shoot the floater a lot and we both like to run our teams. That would be that guy.