INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 4: Cameron Payne # 22 of the Chicago Bulls dribbles the ball against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 4, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Cameron Payne couldn’t imagine being in his pool when he received the call he had been waiting for for a year.
The new Phoenix Suns guard was swimming when the Suns coach Monty Williams gave him a ring.
“Dude, I jumped out of that pool so fast,” he said during a Zoom call on Thursday.
Payne, 25, has already seen his first chances in the NBA come and go.
He was chosen 14th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, of which Williams was the associate coach for Payne’s rookie season.
Things didn’t go well in OKC for Payne and was traded with the Chicago Bulls in 2017. They gave up on it in January 2019 and ended the season on the Cleveland Cavaliers before failing to earn a spot on the opening list for this one. season . Instead, he was in the G League and had a stint in China.
Payne must have known he wasn’t going to have another attempt in the league, but the Suns offered him another shot.
“It was like, ‘Do you have a minute?’ and I’m like ‘Sure! Sure, I have a minute!’ ”said Payne of the conversation with Williams.
“It was almost like a weight lifted from my back because the only thing I wanted to do is go back to the NBA and now I have had the opportunity.”
During that call, Williams wasn’t even that interested in informing him of the situation in Phoenix.
“We talked about it, just OKC stuff,” Payne said. “We haven’t talked too much about the suns. We just regularly discussed our relationship and the things he wanted to see from me. And one of the main things we talked about is maturity and consistency. “
Payne has further comfort in coming into this situation knowing that he is one of his favorite former coaches, probably talking about his past experiences in some new teams and the difficulties that new situations can present to anyone.
“With Monty in OKC, man, we had a real, real, very close relationship,” he said. “Coming here, it’s nice to have someone I know.”
Given that the Suns players have spoken this season, Williams can get to the players in a way that most coaches can’t.
“I don’t know what it is, but it always has the right things to tell me,” said Payne. “For whatever reason, it just snaps me into a different mode.”
The Suns are confident that Williams is the guy who can unlock a solid NBA player with Payne, who hasn’t been able to attack yet. Williams said Payne will have the opportunity to compete for the rotation minutes and it seems that Payne has been humiliated enough to deal with it for that point in a way it wasn’t before.
“I feel I can bring great consistency to the team and do whatever the coach needs me to do,” he said. “I’m a dog and I’m a road warrior, so whatever I’m asked for, I’ll do it.
“Just put my stamp back in the league and let people know I should be here.”
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