Cameron Payne Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Trade Cameron Payne To Spurs

July 17th, 2023 at 5:03pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 17: The trade is official, the Suns PR department tweets. The Spurs have also confirmed the deal, announcing in a press release that the pick they acquired from Phoenix is the Pelicans’ 2025 second-rounder. San Antonio surrendered a protected 2024 second-rounder in the swap.

JULY 16: The Suns have agreed to trade point guard Cameron Payne to the Spurs, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that San Antonio will also acquire a second-round pick and cash in the deal.

Confirming Charania’s report, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) says Phoenix will receive a future second-round pick in the swap. That selection will be protected, sources tell Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

Payne, whose name had popped up in trade rumors as of late, appeared in 48 games for the Suns last season, averaging 10.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .415/.368/.766.

Following Phoenix’s trade of Chris Paul earlier in the offseason, Payne had his $6.5MM salary for 2023/24 guaranteed and looked like he’d get a chance to vie for the final spot in the team’s starting lineup, alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Deandre Ayton.

Instead, the Suns are offloading the veteran guard in order to open up a spot on the roster for Bol Bol, who has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the club. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) suggests that Payne would’ve been behind Jordan Goodwin on the depth chart, so the team was comfortable moving him.

According to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (via Twitter), the move from Payne to Bol will reduce Phoenix’s projected luxury tax penalty by approximately $18MM and will generate a $6.5MM trade exception for the team. ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) estimates that the tax savings will be $26.4MM. Still, it’s a little odd to see the Suns essentially dumping Payne’s contract when it had only been partially guaranteed (for $2MM) until June 29.

The Spurs, who will absorb Payne’s $6.5MM salary into their cap room, will still have a little over $5MM in space available once the trade is official, tweets Gozlan.

It remains to be seen whether San Antonio envisions Payne opening the 2023/24 season with the team — once Tre Jones and Sandro Mamukelashvili officially sign their agreed-upon deals and the Spurs acquire Payne, they’ll have 18 players on standard contracts. They’ll have to reduce that number to 15 ahead of opening night in October.

Scotto’s Latest: Suns, Pacers, Knicks, Wright, Hornets, More

July 15th, 2023 at 2:32pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns, Pacers and Knicks recently had exploratory trade talks on a deal that would have sent Cameron Payne to New York, T.J. McConnell to Phoenix, and Evan Fournier and draft picks to Indiana, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Other iterations of the deal included Jordan Nwora, according to Scotto, though it’s unclear where the Pacers forward would have ended up in that framework.

However, the talks on the three-team trade have stalled, Scotto reports. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports was first to report the Suns and Pacers discussed a deal involving Payne and McConnell, and suggested the Knicks may have been involved as well.

Here’s more from Scotto’s latest article for HoopsHype:

League sources tell Scotto that the Hornets are on the hunt for a backup point guard after Dennis Smith Jr. signed with the Nets in free agency. As Scotto previously reported, Charlotte had interest in Aaron Holiday, but he wound up signing with the Rockets. According to Scotto, one player on Charlotte’s radar is Wizards guard Delon Wright, who will make $8.2MM next season in the final year of his contract. The Wizards traded for Tyus Jones and Jordan Poole, and Wright was signed by the previous front office regime. The 31-year-old has already seen his name pop up in a few other trade rumors this offseason.
Scotto recently spoke to a handful of second-round picks at Summer League about their goals entering their rookie seasons. Those players are Nuggets guard Jalen Pickett, Celtics forward Jordan Walsh, and Mouhamed Gueye and Seth Lundy of the Hawks. Walsh, the No. 38 pick of the 2023 draft, has high expectations for himself, he told Scotto. “If I get a chance to play with these guys and help the team, I want to be on the All-Defensive First or Second Team or Defensive Player of the Year,” Walsh said. “My goals are defensively oriented and winning a championship, which is No. 1. If I’m able to accomplish any of those things, I’d feel my rookie year went pretty well.”
In case you missed it, we passed along some Raptors rumors and free agent rumors from Scotto as well.

Fischer’s Latest: Blazers, Simmons, Payne, McConnell, Fournier

July 12th, 2023 at 7:14pm CST by Rory Maher

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin didn’t appear to be posturing when he recently commented on the status of Damian Lillard‘s trade request, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who writes that there wasn’t any buzz at Summer League about progress between the Blazers and the Heat on a possible deal.

Based on the way Portland has patiently handled the situation thus far, Fischer believes the process could indeed take months. The Blazers are said to be looking for something in the neighborhood of a Kevin Durant-type return in exchange for Lillard — a couple of very good young players and four first-round picks.

Here’s more from Fischer:

The Nets have been linked as a possible third team trade partner in talks between Portland and Miami (with rumored interest in Tyler Herro), but league sources tell Fischer that Brooklyn hasn’t had any serious talks involving Ben Simmons on that front. As Fischer points out, the Nets are surely aware that Simmons’ value has cratered, but they also seem “genuinely intrigued” by pairing a healthy Simmons with a much different roster in 2023/24 after trading Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Suns have been involved in trade talks regarding point guard Cameron Payne, with Phoenix targeting Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell, perhaps in a multi-team deal, Fischer reports. Payne recently had his expiring $6.5MM contract fully guaranteed, while McConnell will earn $18MM over the next two seasons, $13.7MM of which is guaranteed.
The Knicks continue to actively explore Evan Fournier trades and are open to multi-team scenarios, sources tell Fischer. Fournier was pulled from New York’s rotation fairly early last season, only appearing in 27 contests and struggling with his shot in limited minutes. The 30-year-old will earn $18.86MM in 2023/24 and has a $19MM team option for ’24/25 that is highly likely to be declined.

Suns Guaranteeing Last Season Of Cameron Payne’s Contract

June 29th, 2023 at 5:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Suns are fully guaranteeing the final season of point guard Cameron Payne‘s contract for 2023/24, sources tell Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

Payne’s deal had been partially guaranteed for $2MM, and now will become fully guaranteed for $6.5MM.

With injury-prone former starter Chris Paul having been offloaded as part of the deal that brought veteran guard Bradley Beal to Phoenix, the club may have an opening at starting point guard. Beal and All-Star guard Devin Booker both could handle the team’s primary play-making duties at the position, but Payne may also be utilized as the official starter while Beal and Booker are used at shooting guard and small forward.

During Beal’s introductory Suns presser today, head coach Frank Vogel said that Payne would be “in the mix” for a starting role, depending on how the rest of the team’s offseason roster building played out, Rankin tweets.

The 6’1″ vet, inked his current three-year, $19MM deal with the Suns in 2021, after reviving his career as a productive 2020/21 as Paul’s backup on an NBA Finals-bound club.

Last season, the 28-year-old averaged 10.3 PPG, 4.5 APG, 2.2 RPG, and 0.7 SPG in his 48 healthy games with Phoenix last year. He posted that scoring number on a slash line of .415/.368/.766. Injuries to his foot and lower back limited his availability for the club, both during the regular season and playoffs.

Suns Notes: Beal, Paul, Ayton, Draft Picks

June 19th, 2023 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns realized the NBA’s new second tax apron was already going to be an issue for them, so they decided not to let it stand in the way of pursuing Bradley Beal when the Wizards made him available, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN (subscription required). Phoenix reached an agreement on Sunday to trade for Beal, adding the $208MM he’s owed over the next four years to an already expensive roster.

Suns management had been considering cost-cutting moves, according to Windhorst, including a recent meeting with Chris Paul to discuss the possibility of waiving him and saving half the cost of his $30.8MM salary for next season. They decided to reverse course when the opportunity with Beal arose and will likely guarantee Paul’s entire salary before sending him to Washington, sources tell Windhorst.

New owner Mat Ishbia appears to be committed to the super-team philosophy despite a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that was designed to impose heavy sanctions against free-spending teams. The trades for Beal and Kevin Durant have created a significant jump in salary since Ishbia took over the team in February.

The Suns’ spending spree is likely to continue, according to Windhorst, who says they will try to re-sign free agents Torrey Craig, Josh Okogie, Damion Lee, Jock Landale, Bismack Biyombo and Terrence Ross. Windhorst also expects Phoenix to retain Cameron Payne, who only has a $2MM guarantee on his $6.5MM salary for next season through June 29, and the Suns may add to their roster with a $5MM trade exception that doesn’t expire until February.

There’s more from Phoenix:

Paul was flying to New York for an appearance on “Good Morning America” when he learned about the trade, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. “In this league, anything can happen, so you just figure out what’s next,” said Paul, who was on the morning show to promote his new book.
The Suns could avoid the second apron by trading Deandre Ayton for little to no salary in return, which would give them access to the mid-level exception, according to Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. However, he believes it’s more likely that Ayton will be shopped for low-salaried role players, which would help ease the potential tax bill. According to Gozlan, Phoenix is currently looking at a payroll in excess of $190MM, which would result in a luxury tax penalty of about $90MM.
Once the Beal trade is complete, the Suns won’t control any of their first-round picks for the rest of the decade, tweets NBA writer Evan Sidery. The Nets own their selections in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, along with the right to swap picks in 2028. The Wizards are expected to get pick swaps in 2024 and 2026.

Suns Notes: Paul, Payne, Ross, Warren, Irving, Ayton

May 3rd, 2023 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Paul didn’t participate in the Suns‘ practice on Wednesday and he’s not expected to play when their series with the Nuggets resumes Friday night in Phoenix, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Although the team is listing Paul as day-to-day with a strained left groin, sources tell Rankin that he’s expected to miss at least a week, which lines up with another report from Tuesday night.

Paul suffered the injury midway through the third quarter of Game 2 while jumping for a defensive rebound. He grabbed at his groin area when he landed and was quickly replaced. Game 4 is Sunday, and it appears Paul’s next realistic chance to play will be next Tuesday in Game 5 if the Suns can extend the series without their veteran leader.

“Gratefully, he didn’t tear it or something like that where he’s done for the season,” coach Monty Williams said. “You always have to look at the bright side of a tough situation. We’re just grateful that it wasn’t worse than we thought.”

There’s more from Phoenix:

Paul’s spot in the starting lineup is likely to go to Cameron Payne, Rankin adds. Payne, who replaced Paul after the Game 2 injury, started a career-high 15 games this season when Paul was unavailable. Payne recently returned from a lower back injury that limited him to four total minutes in the first-round series.
With the team needing more production from its bench, Williams indicated that Terrence Ross and T.J. Warren could have larger roles in Game 3, Rankin adds in another Arizona Republic story. Both players were acquired in February to boost the Suns’ offense, but they’ve seen limited action during the playoffs. “I can do a better job of putting more scorers on the floor and living with whatever warts may come with that just to free those guys up so they don’t have to do it every single time down the floor,” Williams said. “We’ll make those adjustments accordingly.”
Phoenix could try to land Kyrie Irving in a sign-and-trade deal this summer, speculates John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (audio link). His reasoning is that Kevin Durant enjoys having Irving as a teammate, even though things didn’t work out as planned in Brooklyn, and Irving faces a limited market in free agency. Gambadoro states that the deal could see Deandre Ayton shipped to the Mavericks, who need to find a reliable center.

Suns Notes: Durant, Bench, Paul, Payne, Shamet

May 3rd, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant‘s playoff résumé – including 29.4 PPG in 155 games and a pair of Finals MVP trophies – was a major part of why the Suns traded for him in February. Durant performed at his usual postseason level in the first round against the Clippers, but has been a minus-24 in Phoenix’s first two games vs. Denver, making just 3-of-15 three-pointers (20.%) and committing nine turnovers.

As Gerald Bourguet of GoPHNX.com writes, the Suns need more from Durant if they hope to erase their 2-0 deficit and knock off the top-seeded Nuggets. Still, head coach Monty Williams isn’t concerned about his star forward’s production, chalking up Durant’s 10-of-27 showing on Monday to an off night.

“He just missed a ton of shots, but we got a lot of the shots we wanted,” Williams said. “He and Book took most of the shots, we just didn’t shoot a great percentage tonight. And that kind of stuff happens. They only scored 97 points. Our defense was much better tonight, we just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”

Here’s more out of Phoenix ahead of Friday’s Game 3:

The Suns’ bench production was dismal in Game 2, as Damion Lee, Cameron Payne, Torrey Craig, Bismack Biyombo, Jock Landale, and Ish Wainright combined for just four points on 2-of-16 shooting (0-of-9 on threes). While the team would presumably like to see those numbers improve going forward, Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic notes that Phoenix ranked last in the regular season among playoff teams in bench points, and Williams has said the roster is designed for the starters to do most of the scoring while the reserves contribute in other ways.
After Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that Chris Paul is expected to miss at least one week of action, the Suns officially listed their point guard as day-to-day due to his left groin strain (Twitter link). Although the team’s designation leaves the door open for a quicker return, I’d still be surprised if Paul makes it back before the one-week mark.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who also hears that Paul will miss at least a week, examines how the Suns can cope with the veteran’s absence. As Rankin observes, if Phoenix doesn’t want to move Payne into the starting lineup, the club could opt to shift Devin Booker to the point and start a player like Landry Shamet alongside him. Shamet was a DNP-CD in Game 2 after logging 14 minutes in Game 1.

Suns Notes: Ayton, Payne, Booker, Three-Point Shooting

April 30th, 2023 at 3:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns center Deandre Ayton is confident that Phoenix will rebound after its 125-107 blowout loss to the higher-seeded Nuggets in Game 1 of their second-round matchup, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

“We will be a completely different team Game 2,” Ayton said. “I can tell you that. The physicality, we’re going to turn it up a notch. They were playing Nuggets basketball but they were playing a little too [comfortably].”

Ayton had a modest night. In just over 30 minutes, he scored 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and chipped in seven rebounds. However, the 6’11” big man was a team-worst minus-21 when he was on the floor.

There’s more out of Phoenix:

The Suns currently have the lowest-scoring bench in the league, Rankin writes in a separate piece. Reserve point guard Cameron Payne is working his way back into game shape after a lower back injury kept him unavailable for all but four minutes in Phoenix’s five-game first-round series win against the Clippers. Rankin notes that Payne is hoping to help improve his team’s backup luck against Denver. “I’m just ready to get back out there and do whatever I can help our team get to the next round.” In just 48 games during an injury-plagued 2022/23 regular season, Payne averaged 10.3 PPG. Payne played just five minutes in Game 1 of the Denver series, scoring five points on 2-of-3 shooting during garbage minutes.
All-Star Suns shooting guard Devin Booker proved he truly belongs among the league’s elite thanks to a stellar performance in the first round, opines Rankin in another Arizona Republic story. Booker has improved defensively and as a passer, but his biggest attribute remains his multifaceted scoring touch. To wit, he outscored the Clippers by himself during a decisive third quarter of Phoenix’s closeout Game 5 win, 25-24, while connecting on 10-of-11 from the floor. He scored 27 points against the Nuggets in Game 1, on 10-of-19 shooting.
Though the Suns actually connected on a better percentage of their field goals (51.2%) than the Nuggets did (47.5%) in Game 1, the disparity in made three-pointers proved to be a big part of why they ultimately lost by 18 points, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. In the postseason thus far, teams are attempting 35 triples a game, while the Suns shot just 23 threes in that Game 1 loss, and many of those tries happened with the game already well out of reach.

Injury Updates: Morant, Giannis, Wiggins, Payne

April 20th, 2023 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Going into Wednesday’s Game 2, there were indications that Ja Morant‘s right hand injury had healed enough for him to play, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. In a meeting with reporters shortly before game time, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said his star guard was “feeling a little bit better,” adding that he just had to clear some tests regarding his grip and his ability to dribble.

The announcement that Morant would miss the game was made about an hour before tipoff. Jenkins explained that the team decided to be cautious with the injury, which an MRI revealed involves soft tissues between the bones in Morant’s hand.

“He got all the testing and was still battling some soreness, a little pain,” Jenkins said. “It’s just a collective decision. We all decided that, and obviously he’s a warrior, he wants to be out there, would do anything to be out there, but we just felt like hey, just given all the testing results, give him this game and just wait a couple more days in between.

“We’re hopeful that with the progress he’s making the last couple of days, you know, he’ll be back sooner rather than later. Can’t guarantee when that’s going to be, but it was just one of those things that we just couldn’t, you know, pull it to have him in tonight.”

The series will resume Saturday night in Los Angeles.

There’s more injury news to pass along:

It was also close to game time Wednesday when the Bucks determined that Giannis Antetokounmpo wouldn’t be available, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Antetokounmpo had been upgraded to questionable, but the team opted to not to take a risk with his injured back. “I told him this morning, like, I know you’re going to want to come back but if you don’t, just know we got you,” Jrue Holiday said. “Again, our team has the ultimate confidence in each other and we know how Giannis is. We know Giannis is going to try and make that Superman effort and come back and play 48 minutes and do what he does, but like I said, we can hold down the fort until he comes back.”
The Warriors are listing Andrew Wiggins as questionable for Thursday’s Game 3 with soreness in his right shoulder, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Wiggins has been dealing with the shoulder issue since the postseason began, but he was able to play 39 minutes in Game 2.
Backup point guard Cameron Payne remains questionable for the Suns in Game 3, tweets Law Murray of the Athletic, who adds that coach Monty Williams indicated that Payne has to overcome “movement-related hurdles” before he can play again.

Injury Updates: Morant, Payne, James, Davis, George, Gobert, Jokic

April 18th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant is officially listed as questionable to play in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Lakers, the team’s PR department tweets. Morant is dealing with right hand soreness. He landed hard on the court while committing a charge during the fourth quarter of Game 1.

Adrian Wojnarowski said on the “NBA on ESPN” show that he “does not sense a great deal of optimism” that Morant will play on Wednesday (Twitter link). An MRI on Monday revealed an aggravation of soft tissue bruising in Morant’s hand. He originally injured the hand in the Grizzlies’ April 7 win over Milwaukee, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

We have more injury-related updates:

Suns reserve guard Cameron Payne won’t play in Game 2 against the Clippers on Tuesday, Chris Haynes of TNT tweets. Payne hasn’t played since April 7 due to a back injury.
Both members of the Lakers’ dynamic duo popped up on the injury report submitted the team’s PR department, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. However, they are listed as probable for Game 2 against Memphis, with LeBron James dealing with right foot soreness and Anthony Davis nursing a right foot stress injury.
Clippers forward Paul George did a mix of conditioning and shooting drills during a workout prior to the team’s shootaround on Tuesday, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reports. George is recovering from a sprained right knee and it remains uncertain whether he’ll play at all during the first-round series.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is listed as questionable to play in Game 2 of their series against the Nuggets on Wednesday due to back spasms, the team’s PR department tweets.
While it would be surprising if he didn’t play in Game 2, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is also listed as questionable due to a right wrist sprain, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Jokic participated in practice on Tuesday and didn’t seem to think the sprain was overly serious.