Cameron Payne has lived on the fringe of the NBA for a few seasons now, unable to carve out a role.
The Oklahoma City draft pick from 2015 has also played for the Bulls and Cavaliers, plus had a camp invite from the Raptors at the start of this season but didn’t make the squad and ended up playing in China. He then came back in January and suited up in the G-League — averaging 23.2 points a game for the Texas Legends — until it was shut down due to the coronavirus.
Now the Phoenix Suns will give him another chance, announcing they had signed him for the season restart in Orlando. This is a two-year contract covering the restart and next season (although that second season likely is not fully guaranteed), something reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Phoenix is searching for point guard depth behind Ricky Rubio and Jevon Carter — Payne, Elie Okobo, Ty Jerome, and Jalen Lecque are all in the mix. And this summer, the Suns are expected to look at point guard options in free agency.
It’s another chance for Payne, who has not been able to stick in the NBA. While his skill set should fit the modern game, he doesn’t quite shoot or distribute well enough to earn a coach’s trust. Now he gets another chance with Monty Williams, Orlando is essentially his tryout.