Cameron Payne is happy to return to Sixers: ‘When your focus is in the right place, things like this happen’
Payne, who was playing for Serbian team KK Partizan before the Sixers signed him, will bring much-needed depth at guard after the team traded Eric Gordon and Jared McCain.
Cameron Payne was in the middle of Sunday’s game with Serbian team KK Partizan, when his agent, Jason Glushon, shared that a rest-of-season contract with the 76ers was in the works.
“You might want to pack,” Glushon told his client.
The veteran guard was at Sixers practice by Wednesday afternoon, working with new (and old) teammates and reviewing film with assistant coach Matt Brase. Payne, who played for the Sixers for part of the 2023-24 season, adds depth to a guard group that lost Jared McCain and Eric Gordon at the trade deadline. And though Payne said another NBA comeback was not his overwhelming goal, he is pleased to rejoin a familiar team that exits the All-Star break with a 30-24 record and in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
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“Obviously, I wanted to get back,” Payne said following Wednesday’s practice. “But all my focus was there [with Partizan]. I feel like, sometimes, when your focus is in the right place, things like this happen.
“I was really locked in there, and me playing there got the looks to come back here.”
Payne was a trade-deadline pickup in February of 2024, averaging 9.3 points and 3.1 assists in 19.4 minutes across 31 regular-season games. The 31-year-old is a high-energy guard whom All-Star teammate Tyrese Maxey has seen “change games, honestly,” such as when he provided an 11-point burst on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc in the Sixers’ Game 3 playoff victory over the New York Knicks two seasons ago.
Payne then played for the Knicks last season, averaging 6.9 points and 2.8 assists in 15.1 minutes in 72 games before entering free agency. He spent the preseason with the Indiana Pacers before being released, then had a workout with the Phoenix Suns (where he played for parts of four seasons, from 2020-23) that did not result in a contract.
When Partizan circled back with an offer, Payne jumped at the opportunity.
“Man, I’m tired of sitting down,” he said to himself. “Yeah, let’s play some basketball.”
Payne called the fan environment for the Belgrade-based club “lit,” complete with arenas packed “wall-to-wall” and lit flares causing smoke to hover over the court. He also appreciated that he was trusted to run Partizan’s offense, “like they’re counting on you, for real.” He averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in 15 games.
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Payne believes he can carry that same “ownership” to the Sixers’ second unit, which has sputtered throughout this season.
He will be asked to push the pace, play in the pick-and-roll, and shoot three-pointers. Perhaps more importantly, Payne is expected to give the occasional blow to Maxey, who leads the NBA in minutes per game (38.6), and VJ Edgecombe, who ranks in the league’s top 10 in that category (35.4) while already playing in more games than he did at Baylor. Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday that Payne can “eat into” those players’ stints and also log “superhuge minutes” in specific scenarios, such as back-to-backs or blowouts.
“We can almost throw him in there to take over for certain games,” Nurse said. “He’s capable of doing that.”
To get from Serbia to Philly by the time the Sixers officially reconvened from the All-Star break, Payne first took an early-morning flight Tuesday that connected through Amsterdam. He arrived at the team’s Camden facility around 3:30 p.m. for his physical. He acknowledged Wednesday that he is still adjusting to the time difference and has not slept much.
Still, Nurse said Payne looked in-rhythm during Wednesday’s practice, that “you forget how fast he is.” Payne started to learn new teammates’ tendencies, such as Trendon Watford can initiate the offense as a point forward and that he can “throw it up” to athletic center Adem Bona. With Brase, he went through “a little package” of plays that he could successfully execute should he be called upon to play in Thursday’s home matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.
And during a phone call Wednesday morning with Glushon, Payne turned reflective about his return to the Sixers.
“I don’t know how I keep finding a way to get back,” Payne said. “But I guess the NBA’s still watching. And if you still take your game seriously and do the right things, play the right way, they’re still looking.”