Brace Hemmelgarn- USA Today Sports
I always believed that Elfrid Payton would be great in an Orlando Magic uniform from the moment they traded for him on draft day last year.
He turned out to be everything that was expected; a Gary Payton clone for the 21st century who could defend like crazy and drive to the rim.
But one thing that was missing from Payton’s game last season was a respectable jumper, which to put it mildly, was pretty dreadful. But during the offseason, Payton is working on his mid-range jumper, and this is positive news for the Magic.
It’s positive news because Payton is the point guard the Magic were looking for to replace longtime floor general Jameer Nelson.
Payton is not a score-first guard. He is a throwback to the point guards of yesteryear, when it was all about setting up your teammates, and looking for your shot came secondary.
Although Payton had a tremendous impact on Orlando when he was inserted into the lineup full-time, his shooting quickly became a liability for the team. Granted, Orlando was a horrible shooting team as a whole last season, but Payton became the poster child of the Magic’s shooting woes.
With new coach Scott Skiles now in town, Payton is going to have to be a mid-range shooting machine because Skiles’ offense has a heavy emphasis on mid-range shots. Hopefully Payton can knock down the mid-range jumper that opens up the driving lanes for both he and Victor Oladipo, which would make this backcourt one of the most dangerous in the league next season.
Payton working on his outside shot is proof positive that he wants to take the next step and join the likes of Chris Paul and Tony Parker as one of the NBA‘s premier floor general.
Kareem Gantt covers the NBA and the rest of the sports world for Rant Sports. For more from this author, follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, and add him to your network on Google.
