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With the No. 10 pick in the NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers chose Elfrid Payton from Louisiana Lafayette. And then before his press conference started, he was traded to Orlando for the No. 12 pick in the draft, Dario Saric.
Payton will join a very athletic Orlando team, featuring Victor Oladipo and Jameer Nelson in the backcourt. He can immediately step in and become a primary ball handler for the Magic and be a key distributor to the men inside.
Philadelphia was almost guaranteed to make a move of some kind after the pick. There would be no reason to add Payton to a backcourt that already had Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams. One of the two was destined to be gone before the night was over, although many felt it would be Williams before the draft started if they Sixers could have pulled off a bigger move in hours between the trade moratorium and the draft beginning.
Some scouts had doubts about Payton entering the draft, especially on the scoring side. That won't help Orlando if that is true, given that he is joining a team in the bottom half of the league in shooting percentage. But Payton is a creator and he can make up for a lack of pure scoring ability -- like a Doug McDermott -- and make the defense stop him as he drives the lane and can score with both hands or pass back out.
He will join some recent great point guards out of the mid-major ranks, including Damian Lilliard. Could we see a potential Rookie of the Year season?
Pre-Draft Profile: Elfrid Payton