Chicago Bulls: Takeaways from Cameron Payne injury

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 8: Cameron Payne #22 of the Chicago Bulls dribbles against the Dallas Mavericks on July 8, 2017 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images /

How Payne’s injury affects point guard rotation

Thanks to the unexpected benching of Rajon Rondo, combined with the inconsistent play of the remaining point guards on the roster, this position was a revolving door of sorts last season, to say the least. To help make life easier for Fred Hoiberg (if you can call it that), the Bulls cut ties with Rondo, along with Michael Carter-Williams and Isaiah Canaan as well.

With Dunn expected to become a fixture with the starting five, the initial thought was Payne would battle Jerian Grant for minutes at the backup spot, which makes sense because Dunn and Zach LaVine were viewed as the key pieces of the draft-night trade that involved Jimmy Butler.

But as was the case last year, Payne will be out of the mix for the first few months of the season, which essentially makes Grant the guy who will back up Dunn off the bench. On the positive side, there are only a limited number of players for Hoiberg to choose from at this spot, compared to last season.

The bad news is the Bulls cannot be totally sure what to expect from Payne when he gets healthy, and even more importantly, whether this will be the last time he sustains an injury of this magnitude.

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