Thunder take Cameron Payne with No. 14 pick in NBA draft

By foxsports
Published

The Thunder selected Murray State point guard Cameron Payne with the No. 14 overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday.

Payne averaged 20.2 points and 6.0 assists per game as a sophomore last season. He shot 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range. He'll back up Russell Westbrook.

The Thunder gained the lottery pick because they missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker in the loaded Western Conference. It is Oklahoma City's first draft since hiring Billy Donovan to replace Scott Brooks as head coach.

Earlier in the day, the Thunder announced that they had acquired guard Luke Ridnour and a conditional 2016 second round draft pick from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for guard Jeremy Lamb.

Oklahoma City also held the No. 48 pick.

The Thunder had no glaring needs, and were looking to add to their depth.

The franchise has a history of draft success under general manager Sam Presti. He picked Kevin Durant No. 2 in 2007, Westbrook No. 4 and Serge Ibaka No. 24 in 2008, James Harden No. 3 in 2009, Reggie Jackson No. 24 in 2011 and Steven Adams No. 12 in 2013. Durant is the 2014 MVP and a four-time scoring champion, Westbrook was the scoring champion and All-Star Game MVP this past season and Ibaka is a three-time member of the All-Defense first team and a two-time league blocks leader.

Expectations are high heading into next season because Durant, who played just 27 games last season because of foot and ankle injuries, and Ibaka, who missed the last month of the season with a knee injury, are expected to be healthy. Oklahoma City entered last season as one of the favorites to contend for the NBA title before the injuries piled up. Even with all the setbacks, the Thunder finished with a 45-37 record.