Thunder rookie Cameron Payne on his teammates coac

Cameron Payne was inactive for the Thunder in the season-opener, but the No. 14pick in Malik Reed Jersey the 2015 NBA Draft should make an impact soon. Coming out of Murray State, he was compared to fellow small-school point guards including Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry.But for now, Payne takes a back seat to his new superstar teammates, Kevin Durant and Ru sell Westbrook. Sporting News spoke with Payne recently about playing with those stars as well as his shoe collection and sneakerhead past.MORE: | Q: First of all, what were your thoughts on being drafted by a team like the Thunder that has so much star power and is expected to be a really good team this year? A lot of guys who get drafted where you did end up playing for bad teams their first couple of seasons. A: I mean, honestly, when I got drafted by Oklahoma City, I saw it as a ble sing in disguise. Im going to be able to learn from Ru sell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, and the first thing in the back of my Mike Ford Jersey head was, man, I can end up being a really good player in the NBA some day because Im going to learn from some great guys.Q: Whats it been like to be around those guys? Most people would consider Durant and Westbrook maybe two of the top five guys in the Caden Sterns Jersey entire league, so whats it been like sort of being mentored by those guys? A: Its been cool. Ru sell is definitely a competitor, he definitely goes at me every day at practice. But even outside of practicing, hes a real cool dude. Hes basically been willing to take me under his wingand hes really been guiding me so far. Ive been having a good time learning from both of themand Im just ready to get the season started to see what happens in the future.Q: Yeah, because at the end of the day, of course its Kevin Durant and it Tom Jackson Jersey s Ru sell Westbrook, but basically theyre your teammates now. A: Yeah, right? Before I came, I was like man, Im going to play with Ru sell and Kevin Durant?! When I first got here, I couldnt believe it . But now, Im used to seeing them all the time, and Im used to competing with them all the time. So now its just, these are my teammates, and its just another day at the office trying to get better.MORE: Q: Its crazy how quickly that changes. What about your head coach, whats it been like with Billy Donovan? Obviously a lot was made of the fact that the Thunder made a coaching change in the offseason, whats it been like playing for Billy Donovan so far? A: Man, its been pretty good. The Stephen Weatherly Jersey thing is, were both rookies. Hes come in and done a great job. Hes taught me so much, especially during the summer while we had workouts. But even now, he still talks to me on and off the court. Hes Albert Okwuegbunam Jersey been giving me great adviceand letting me know to keep working, make sure I keep my head on straight. Hes been doing a fantastic job. For him being my first coach in the NBA, I feel like were going to have a great time together.Q: I was looking at your preseason stats, it looks like your minutes have kind of been up and down, basically every other game you got some decent minutes. Has coach spoken to you about what your role might be with the team this season? A: No, but itll be fine. He said anytime Im in the game to Russell Wilson Jersey make the most of my opportunityand that I need to stay ready because he could put me in the game at any given time. Its just, be ready whenever my name is called.Q: All right, so I hear youre a little bit of a sneakerhead. First question is, how big is your collection? A: Laughs I buy a lot of shoes. I gue s its big, I dont know. Ive got a lot of them, but thats a really tough question.Q: Are talking hundreds? Are we talking a whole closet, a whole room full? What are Tim Patrick Jersey we looking at here? A: Definitely my whole closet, I dont have any room in my closet anymore. I leave a lot of them in boxes in other parts of the room. Laughs Its not that big. Ive got multiple Jordan retrosand Ive been getting a lot of Nike Air Max lately. But most of them have been Jordan retros.MORE: Q: What are some of your favorite Jordan retros? A: I like the 11s, thats really one of the best ones to me is the 11s. I like the 4s, and I like the 12s. Those are probably some of my best ones.Q:So I heard you signed with Nike, what types of models can we expect to see you wear on the court this year? A: The Kevin Durant 8s, Ill definitely wear a lot of those. You can get a lot of colors in those. Let me see, what else? That really might be it.Q: You going to stick with the KDs, keep the Mike Boone Jersey big dog happy? A: Oh, I got to. I got to. Ive gotta keep the big dog happy.Q: Youre signed with Nike now, so youre not going to be wearing Jordans on the court. But I imagine Ru sell Westbrook might give you a little bit of a hard time about that. A: Laughs Nah, hes cool with it. The shoes I have at the gym, Ive had Kyries in my locker a couple of times, but I just told them to take them out because I respect Ru sell so much that Denver Broncos Pet Gear I didnt want to wear any competitors shoes when I was in the game with him. So Ill just keep it simple.