Pacers want Payne? Swap for #11

[byennie]

Do you know how deep OKC's team is?  They will absolutely go BPA.  I wouldnt be surprised if the Hawks did the same. Furthermore, in each of the last four drafts, there has been at least one draft night trade involving picks 12-15, so it's rather likely that the draft order for those slots will not hold this year as well.

If Indy traded back to us, I continue to voice my skepticism that they could acquire Payne at 16.

Sure, it's possible that he would be off the board. But the Hawks with Teague and Schroder already on board seems really unlikely. They already have a starter *and* a highly rated young backup, and Mack under contract to boot. Meanwhile Millsap, Antic, Carroll, Muscala are all free agents.

As for OKC, I can see your argument, but this is Durant's contract year. They are in win now mode, and backup rookie point guards are the opposite of win now IMO. I think it's way more likely they take someone like Dekker, Kaminsky or Portis who can contribute right away.

I also haven't seen Payne ranked higher than #15 (which is Atlanta) on any boards, so while possible someone sees him as BPA it's not like he's a great value at that point.

[Beat LA]

If Indiana really wants Payne, they're not in a strong position. They either make a deal, or pick him 5-10 spots higher than necessary.

Do they want Payne, or Payne and another pick?

Obviously they can strong-arm us, but if they are the ones trying to move down we can talk to Utah at #12 and call their bluff.

They'd only pick him about 3 spots higher than necessary.  He's really good -- definitely worthy of being the second PG taken in the draft.

He's not getting drafted in the 12-15 range unless there is a trade. Utah (Burke + Exum), Phoenix (Knight + Bledsoe), OKC (Westbrook), Atlanta (Teague + Schroder) are not picking a PG. So #16 is exactly as good as #11 if they want him. He's only top 15 in theory if Indiana doesn't take him, unless one of those teams makes another move.

Do you know how deep OKC's team is?  They will absolutely go BPA.  I wouldnt be surprised if the Hawks did the same. Furthermore, in each of the last four drafts, there has been at least one draft night trade involving picks 12-15, so it's rather likely that the draft order for those slots will not hold this year as well.

If Indy traded back to us, I continue to voice my skepticism that they could acquire Payne at 16.

Yeah, with his draft record, watch Presti take Upshaw right out from underneath us.  Ugh. 

As for Indiana, it doesn't surprise me that Bird likes Payne, because he's a Larry Bird type of a player in terms of being a great talent at a small school.  If he trades down and still gets Payne, I could see him taking Harvey, Upshaw, or Wright, as well.  Deng . Of course, he could always just take Payne at 11, so...

Btw, is/was Utah actually interested in trading the 13th pick for AB, or was that just a piece of fan fiction, so to speak, haha ? The Jazz cannot possibly be that dumb, can they?