Gary Payton II has an NBA body and put up some of the most impressive all-around numbers in college basketball last season.After leading Oregon State in points, rebounds, assists and steals, the 23-year-old (6'3", 190 pounds; 6'6.5" wingspan) is physically ready to be a pro.But for Payton to make it in the league, he's going to have to embrace a much different role than that of his legendary father."You almost look at him as a defensive specialist/athlete, and you're hoping that he can improve his ball-handling and other stuff he struggles with," an NBA scout told Bleacher Report.Said another scout: "He tops out at a backup, but he should play in the league."Payton played point guard for the Beavers but lacks what NBA teams want in a point guard from a skills perspective (shooting, elite ball-handling and creativity). Still, his body and physical tools will earn him a look.Relevant statsWhile Payton isn't known as a creative playmaker, his assist numbers did go up in collegefrom a 22.7 percent assist rate as a junior to 32.7 percent as a senior, per KenPom.com. Part of that had to do with being surrounded by better talent in 2014-15, but Payton deserves some credit for his improvement as well.His steals and rebounding numbers are what really jump off the page. He ranked second in steals per game as a junior and fourth this past season. He was also eighth in the nation among guards in rebounding and was the only player in the country 6'3" or shorter to finish in the top 200 in rebounds per game.StrengthsPayton's rebounding is most likely to translate to the NBA. He has a good nose for the ball and strong hands. Similar to a good receiver in football, he's solid in the air and has a knack for grabbing the ball at his highest point."He rebounds for the guard position at an insanely high level," the second scout said.Below are the five best rebounding guards in the NBA this past season (minimum 20 minutes per game). I looked up the best defensive rebounding rate they had in college and compared that to Payton's senior season. Only Evan Turner and Will Barton were better, and both have several inches on Payton.Offensively, Payton was at his best operating in the paint. He finished 63.5 percent of his shots at the rim, per Hoop-Math.com, and he's a slithery driver with a good burst.Defense was obviously one of his biggest strengths and a projectable quality, but there's plenty of room for growth. With his instincts and wingspan, Payton has the potential to become one of the better defensive point guards coming off the bench in the NBA.Weaknesses"He's got to understand playing defense isn't all about posting steals numbers," the second scout said.Payton's steals numbers might suggest he's a better defender than Virginia's Malcolm Brogdon (a fellow second-round prospect), who averaged less than a theft per game, but Brogdon seems like an A-plus defender, while Payton is a B-plus."For a guy who had the stats that he had, his motor wasn't there consistently for me," the first scout said.Payton's biggest weakness is his jumper. Opponents regularly went under ball screens, daring him to shoot. He struggled with his pull-up jumper and in-between game as well, making only 33.1 percent of his two-pointers last season, according to Hoop-Math.com."He's got to shoot the ball better," the second scout said. "He's also got to show possession after possession that he can get you into your offense and make the right reads."The rapid improvement Payton made in his college career offers hope. He wasn't highly recruited out of high school and ended up spending two seasons at Salt Lake Community College. He did well in the JUCO ranksearning second-team NJCAA Division I All-American honorsbut even then he was under the radar, and his best offers were from Saint Mary's and Oregon State.Since he did a year of prep school in addition to four years of college, he's in the age range where scouts sometimes assume he is what he's going to be, but that's not necessarily the case.NBA player comparisonThe same NBA rookie came up as a comp for Payton from both scouts, hinting that they see him as a guy who will improve in the NBA."You look at him as maybe being like a Norman Powell if he changes his ball-handling and gets his passing down," the first scout said. "Norman had a lot better jump shot at this stage of his career, which is basically now, because Norman just turned 23."Powell averaged 5.6 points in 14.8 minutes per game off the bench for the Toronto Raptors this past season after going 46th in the 2015 draft. He shot the three more frequently in college than Payton, but his success rate wasn't much better. He made only 31.4 percent of his long-range attempts in four years at UCLA, including 31.9 percent as a senior."[Payton] could be this year's Norman Powella guy who has gotten better but not quite to the point that you want him to, so he goes in the second round," the second scout said. "He gets in an NBA situation where he doesn't have to go to class, can focus on basketball, finally improves his shooting and then his athleticism translates really well to the league."Like Payton, Powell's biggest asset as a prospect was his athleticism and the fact that he had a pro's body. What was so surprising about his rookie season was that he cleaned up the mechanics of his jumper and became one of the top knockdown shooters in the league.Best-case scenarioPowell is a unique case in terms of what he's been able to do with his jump shot. While the numbers weren't there in college, he had a smoother stroke than Payton.But if Payton can improve his jumper enough so defenses don't ignore him on the perimeter, he has a chance to be one of the steals of the second round.Worst-case scenarioWhile Payton was a great success at Oregon State, it's going to be hard to make it if he doesn't address some of his game's weaknesses, and he has to become an all-out-effort player all of the time.He is likely to spend time in the D-League next year and could top out as a solid D-League guard before heading overseas to make money.PredictionPayton will go somewhere in the middle of the second round and spend his early career in the D-League.His path to the NBA could be similar to that of Patrick Beverly, who bounced around the D-League and overseas for a few years until he made it in the NBA.Assuming he figures out that his calling is as a defensive specialist (think a smaller Tony Allen), there's a place for him as a backup point guard in the NBA.C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR.
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