Cameron Payne To Sign With Sixers

10:37 am: It may take some time to secure Payne’s release from Partizan, Stein tweets. The Sixers have to secure a Letter of Clearance from FIBA, and they can only contribute $875K to his buyout.

8:59 am: Cameron Payne will leave his European team and join the Sixers for the rest of the season, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

The 31-year-old guard was in training camp with the Pacers last fall, but was waived before the season began. In December, he agreed to a deal with KK Partizan in Serbia, heading overseas for the first time in his career.

However, Payne has been held out of recent games, sparking rumors that he might be headed elsewhere, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. He appeared in just 10 games for Partizan, averaging 12.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals. Askounis adds that the Serbian team will receive $1.75MM in a buyout agreement.

The move marks a return to Philadelphia for Payne, who finished the 2023/24 season with the Sixers after being acquired from Milwaukee at the trade deadline. He posted 9.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 31 games and remained in the team’s rotation for the playoffs.

Payne signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2024 and appeared in 72 games last season before becoming a free agent again.

The Sixers are down to 13 players on standard contracts after 10-day deals for Charles Bassey and Patrick Baldwin Jr. expired over the weekend. They have enough room to add two players on prorated veteran minimum contracts for the rest of the season without going into luxury tax territory, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).

Philadelphia is low on experienced guards after trading Jared McCain to Oklahoma City, so Payne will have a chance to contribute right away. The Sixers’ season will resume Thursday against Atlanta.