NY Post
From the sound of it, Payne, John Calipari?s longtime Kentucky assistant, wouldn?t mind taking on a third Kentucky scorer, one who he just coached last season in Lexington.
In an interview conducted with The Post on July 13, before he became a Knicks coaching candidate, Payne raved about lottery prospect Tyrese Maxey, the 6-foot-3 electric freshman combo guard.
Most mock drafts have Maxey as a late lottery pick, but if the Knicks stay within the 6-10 range, Payne believes Maxey will be a good value pick the way the NBA is trending with positionless basketball.
?I think he?d be a good fit for any team,? Payne told The Post last month. ?In the next couple of years, he?s going to be one of those guys you look back on and people say: ?Wow, I knew he was good, I didn?t know he was that good.? When you?re drafting a kid this young, you?re looking at if he can help now, but you?re also projecting where he?ll be a year or two year from now.?
Maxey scored 26 points in his Kentucky debut ? at the Garden against Michigan State. The knock on the Garland, Texas, product is he?s not a true point guard and started the season lax on defense.
?The NBA is going to guards being versatile,? Payne said. ?And he can really score and do it running off screens or throwing it back to him when the defense lags and allows him to be in scoring position. But you also can put him in position for him to be a lead guard. It?s the ability to do both ? play off the ball and on the ball that is vital in today?s NBA.?
Maxey doesn?t have blinding numbers, but Payne feels he missed out on a big chance to lift his stock when the SEC and NCAA tournaments were scrapped.
?I just think he loves to play,? Payne said.
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