Knicks signing veteran guard Cameron Payne to one-year deal

The Knicks are using their veteran minimum exception to sign point guard Cameron Payne to a one-year deal worth $3.1 million, SNY has confirmed.

New York also showed interest in Washington Wizards guard Tyus Jones as they searched for another ball-handler, sources say.

Per sources familiar with the matter, Jones has drawn interest from multiple teams at this point in free agency and some of those teams can offer significantly more than New York could have given Jones (a 2-year, $10 million deal, at most).

So it wasn’t as if New York chose Payne over Jones. But in Payne, they get a player with valuable playoff experience, having appeared in 47 postseason games over the past four seasons in Philadelphia and Phoenix.

The Knicks liked, among other things, Payne’s playoff experience, per league sources familiar with the matter.

Payne, 29, was one of the best backup guards on the market.

I don’t think the Payne signing is a direct reflection on how New York views backup guard Miles McBride. The Knicks had no interest in adding McBride to the Mikal Bridges trade earlier in the offseason. Also, they have said this offseason that they view McBride primarily as an off-ball guard who can handle the ball when needed.

With Payne on board, the Knicks have 13 players on NBA contracts and one player on a two-way contract. Teams can carry a maximum of 15 players on NBA deals and three two-way players on the roster during the regular season.

Payne should boost the Knicks’ second unit. He first emerged as a true weapon coming off the bench for Phoenix during their run to the 2021 NBA Finals, averaging 9.3 points (on 42.5 percent shooting) and 3.2 assists in 19.0 minutes per game.

He’s continued to produce since and served as a tremendous deadline acquisition for Philadelphia this season, averaging 9.3 points and 3.1 assists while shooting 41.3 percent from the field.

Payne contributed 11 points off the bench in a Game 3 win over the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs and shot an impressive 44 percent from beyond the arc during the series.

Across 78 games (10 starts) in the 2023-24 season with Milwaukee and Philly, the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/knicks-signing-veteran-g-cameron-231658564.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2024-07-15 23:16:58

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