Payton is still undecided. He's working out with Utah next week.
"The combine didn’t go the best, but the workouts have gone really well…..I still am no where near a decision....Everyone has loved the shooting. I didn’t really shoot it the best at the combine, but nobody really cared."
Good story from yesterday:
IOWA CITY, IOWA – We are just over a month away from the 2024 NBA draft and more importantly, we are inching closer to the deadline for NCAA athletes to pull their name from the draft pool.
Iowa’s Payton Sandfort is one of the players who is still testing the waters with the NBA and spoke with media after working out for the 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
“Growing up in the 2000’s it’s hard not to be excited to come workout here. See all the history, all the rings and stuff.” Sandfort said Thursday afternoon.
Sandfort’s play style is about as perfect of a match for the Warriors fast paced, three point oriented offense. He shot 37.9% from deep on over seven attempts a game in this past season for the Hawkeyes.
Listed at 6’7″ 215 lbs. Sandfort has great length and size for an NBA shooting guard with the ability to also slide down to the small forward position. With the way the league plays now, wing players are the at the highest demand, especially those who can shoot at the level Sandfort can.
He quickly stepped into the role of a leader on this team after the Hawkeyes lost their leading scorer (Kris Murray) to the NBA for the third season in a row.
Here are a couple things we learned today when Sandfort met with the media.
The decision is far from finalized:
“I’m really looking to personally feel like I belong in the league.” Sandfort says, “To some level I have done that with some of these workouts. The combine didn’t go the best, but the workouts have gone really well…..I still am no where near a decision.”
The Iowa wing hurt his shoulder during one of the scrimmages in the combined, a minor injury that has flared up a couple of times recently.
Sandfort shared that the teams he has worked out for include the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, as well as interviewing with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also confirmed his next stop will be to the Utah Jazz next week.
“I’m no closer than I was the day I left Iowa City.” Sandfort said, “It can be a little stressful, there’s a lot on the line and obviously I have a ton of family back in Iowa……..I’m just trying to enjoy this opportunity as much as possible.”
Teams like his shooting, he’s trying to show more:
“A lot of teams are different, everyone has loved the shooting. I didn’t really shoot it the best at the combine, but nobody really cared. A lot of the teams are looking to see what else I can do well, the rebounding,” Sandfort said when asked what he is hearing from teams at this point, “I did rebound well last year, they want to see that I am physical and I can hold my own down there defensively. That’s what I have been trying to show and I’m still waiting to hear from a lot of other teams.”
He posted a career high 6.6 rebounds a game this season for Iowa while also raising his steal and block averages. He also shared the support he has received from Iowa Head Coach Fran McCaffery throughout this process.
“He came to the combine, watched the game and was checking in on me when I hurt my shoulder. He’s been nothing but supportive through this process and I know he’ll support me either way. Obviously he wants me back though I think.” Sandfort laughed as he made the last remark.
Sandfort has a little less than a week to make his final decision as May 29th is the deadline for students to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their college eligibility.
If Sandfort does remain in the draft, he will have to wait until June 26th or 27th when the draft will take play at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Iowa's Payton Sandfort is one of the players who is still testing the waters with the NBA and spoke with media after working out for the 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
hawkfanatic.com
