Cameron Payne has agreed to a second 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers
Apparently the Cleveland Cavaliers see something in Cameron Payne. A 10-day contract was signed, Payne’s second with the team. Payne was brought in after waiving Patrick McCaw after only three games. It seems safe to say they like what they see more out of Payne than McCaw.
Initially Payne was brought in due to an injury to backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova. Even with a healthy Dellavedova it appears that Payne will stay in the mix. For the time being Cleveland will have three point guards on their roster. Payne, Dellavedova and rookie Collin Sexton.
Cameron Payne’s improved shooting
While Cameron Payne has been rather underwhelming during his career, it appears that he is playing better in his current role. Connecting on 50 percent of his shots, including 40 percent from deep. These marks are much improved when compared to his career averages of 39.4 and 33.1 percent respectively. However his past does indicate a correction is on the way.
In addition to his improved shooting percentages, Payne is also taking more shots. 6.5 attempts from the field and 3.8 attempts from three-point range this season. Payne averages 5.9 field goal attempts and 2.8 three-point attempts in his career. The fact that Payne is taking and making more shots is good news for the Cavaliers, as the team struggles offensively quite often. Payne’s improved shooting percentages have led to matching a career-high 8.8 points per game in Cleveland. Granted this is only a four game sample size, but it is at least encouraging.
With Payne on the floor the Cavaliers offensive and defensive rating are exactly the same (117). While Payne is not a net positive the main takeaway is that he is not a net negative. There are not a whole lot of players on the roster who this can be said about. In fact there have only been two players all season that have been a positive, Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr.
If Payne can at least continue his play thus far it is possible that the Cavaliers will sign him for the rest of the season. Even if a dip in play occurs Payne could still end up wearing a Cavaliers uniform for duration of the campaign. Cleveland is not playing for anything besides lottery percentages and seeing if Payne can turn his career around is far from the worst idea.
