James Harden: Elfrid Payton Is ‘Real Good’
Houston Rockets‘ guard James Harden told Elfrid Payton’s father that he was “real good”
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The
had two lottery picks in the 2014
Draft. They used the fourth-overall pick to select former
‘ forward Aaron Gordon and then moved up from No. 12 to acquire the 10th-overall pick, former Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns’ point guard Elfrid Payton.
Payton has received a lot of help over the last few weeks and one NBA All-Star has only added to that hype.
“Your boy is good,” Houston Rocket’s guard James Harden told Payton’s father via Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. “Real good.”
“I appreciate that,” Payton Sr. told the All-Star shooting guard.
That’s high praise from Harden. Payton thought Harden’s comments were “cool” and is also getting a lot of help from his own veteran teammates.
“I think I’m getting a great feel for everybody,” Payton said. “I’m seeing where they like the ball, what they’re going to give me on defense, what they’re going to give me on offense and I think we’re going to be alright this year. … All of the veterans have helped me. All of them give me good advice about how the game goes, how long the season is and things like that. They’ve even helped with stuff off of the court. They’ve been great.”
Payton obviously has a lot of work to do, especially with his shot, if he wants to improve to the level many believe he can reach. It looks like the Magic, who have made Payton a starter, at least while Victor Oladipo, will give him every chance to do just that.
Payton made his NBA regular season debut in a 101-84 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Payton scored four points on two-of-eight shooting, dished out seven assists, grabbed five rebounds and had one steal.
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