No Pain, No Gain for Adreian Payne
As a 23-year-old rookie, many teams did not consider giving the struggling Adreian Payne a chance, but a fresh start with the rebuilding Minnesota Timberwolves might ignite something from the Michigan State standout.
Payne, who was picked 15th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2014 Draft, was traded to Minnesota, where he will join other youngsters in bid to improve for and along with the franchise that have missed the playoffs for the better part of the decade.
The Timberwolves president and head coach Flip Saunders traded for Payne in exchange for a protected future first round pick. Earlier this week, Saunders traded Mo Williams and Troy Daniels for the Charlotte Hornets’ Gary Neal and a second round pick.
In Minnesota, Payne will join 2014 top draft Andrew Wiggins, 13th pick Zach Lavine and other young pieces like Ricky Rubio, Gorugi Dieng, Shabazz Muhammad and Anthony Bennett in a bid to hoist back the Wolves into playoff contention.
BAD START
The 23-year-old Payne was no surprise pick by the Hawks, for he was an all-around forward who can defend, run, rebound and stretch the floor- skills that are essential in the system used by the very successful Atlanta side today.
Payne, who averaged 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists during his senior year in Michigan State, was expected to be an efficient third-stringer for the Hawks, who already have Paul Millsap (starter), Mike Scott and Elton Brand fighting for the same minutes in the position.
But he never found his rhythm.
After shooting poorly from the arc in the NBA Summer League, he started to show some resemblance of the stretch-forward in the first five preseason games. But he was diagnosed with a plantar fasciitis in his left foot and from then on continued to lose favor and confidence in himself.
D-LEAGUE STINT
He returned to action when the NBA season was already underway, so naturally he was sent to the NBA D-League so as not to overwhelm the young forward.
During his six games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the 6-10 Ohio native was still did not have the confidence he had during his stints in college. In that span, he averaged 13.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists but shot only 40% from the field and missed all of his seven three-point attempts.
He was recalled a few times before being sent to the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s D-League affiliate squad. But even there he could not find his range, missing all but three of his 16 three-pointers in 11 games with the Austin side.
He debuted last December, putting up two points and three rebounds in 13 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks, but failed to impress Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer.
AFTER THE ‘PAYNE’, WILL WE SEE THE GAIN?
With his trade to the Timberwolves, Payne will have the chance to join a team that is not aiming for heights like the Hawks are in Atlanta. And under Coach Saunders, who has been credited for utilizing rookies well, he will have a mentor who is not asking for wins, only asking for the right balance of effort and focus.
With Wiggins and Co, there is chance he’ll feel like he is back in Michigan, playing with guys who have nothing to lose, but have something to prove. He still has some work to do, and some battling for heavy minutes, but there is great chance that he will be comfortable in this new start.
When he was at his best in Michigan, Payne shot 50% from the field and made 42% from the arc. So, if Payne can try to emulate Wiggins and acclimate himself in the fast-paced game of the NBA, we might see Flip Saunders celebrating for making this trade.
Stats are from basketball-reference.com and main story from Yahoo Sports.
Photo by LakersNation
