Wednesday 1 July 2020 11:23, UK
The Phoenix Suns announced the signing of Cameron Payne on Tuesday, despite the 25-year-old point guard having not yet featured in an NBA game this season.
Payne played two games with the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association and averaged 22.5 points, 7.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 steals, and later played 15 games for the Texas Legends in the G League.
He averaged 23.2 points, 8.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 thefts for the Legends.
Payne was a first-round pick (14th overall) for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2015 NBA Draft and played 77 games for the team over parts of two seasons before being traded to Chicago in February 2017.
He spent portions of three campaigns with the Bulls before being waived on January 3, 2019, later playing nine games with the Cleveland Cavaliers that season.
Payne signed with the Toronto Raptors as a free agent last July and was released shortly before the start of the 2019-20 season.
He has career averages of 6.0 points, 2.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 153 NBA games (28 starts).
The Suns open play in the restarted NBA season on July 31 against the Washington Wizards at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.
Tune into Sky Sports Arena from 8pm Wednesday as B.J. Armstrong joins the Heatcheck team to talk Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls and his all-time starting five players
