Payne agrees to a deal with Milwaukee Bucks
MBB: The Murray State Hall of Famer has been a free agent since September
Multiple media outlets are reporting today the Milwaukee Bucks intend to sign veteran Cameron Payne to a one-year free agent deal.
Payne seemingly confirmed the news with this tweet this afternoon:
The 2015 NBA lottery pick has had an eventful summer. Back in July, Phoenix traded Payne to San Antonio in a move to free up some salary cap space for the Suns. Then on September 11th, the Spurs waived Payne, giving Payne the opportunity to sign with a contending team where he could have a larger role. Signing with Milwaukee certainly does that.
The Bucks traded for superstar Damian Lillard last week. Pairing Lillard with Giannis Antetokounmpo makes Milwaukee one of the favorites in the NBA’s Eastern Conference next season. After acquiring Lillard, the Bucks traded away guards Grayson Allen and Jrue Holiday, which opened up a backup point guard position for the upcoming season that Payne will now fill.
Payne backed up Chris Paul in Phoenix for the last three years. He averaged 10.3 points and 4.5 assists in 48 games for the Suns last season. Payne also had a 31-point performance in Game 6 of the 2023 Western Conference semifinals against Denver. He started the final four games of the playoffs for the Suns.
Since Milwaukee has little wiggle room with their salary cap, Payne is expected to sign a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, which should be for about $3,000,000.