When the Suns signed 2015 lottery pick Cameron Payne to their long-open 15th roster spot last week, not many could even place where Payne played this past year, because it wasn’t in the NBA.
In four short years, Payne went from hyped lottery talent — taken 14th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder five years ago — to completely out of the league, due to a combination of injuries and poor performance.
But that lottery-level talent is still inside in the 24-year-old Payne, ready for another chance in the NBA to play with the BubbleBoyz in Orlando and a make-good contract for next year too ($196K guaranteed).