Chicago Bulls: Evaluating lineup change experiment

Cameron Payne

The Bulls acquired Cameron Payne prior to last year’s trade deadline. Due to the team’s late-season push for the playoffs, Payne saw very limited action.

In 11 outings, his averages included 4.9 points on 33.3 percent shooting overall and 32.4 percent from 3-point range. After another poor showing during the Summer League tournament (9-for-26 with seven turnovers in two games), Payne broke his right foot a third time and was out of action up until the All-Star break.

Since returning to the court, Payne has been a mixed bag of sorts, which is to be expected after being out the rotation for extended time for the second straight season. In nine games, Payne is averaging 7.9 points and 3.0 assists per outing.

While those numbers are significantly better than what he posted in limited action last season, the stat that stands out even more is his shooting efficiency. Thanks to strong performances in his last two outings (a combined 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting), Payne is converting 45.6 percent of his overall attempts and shooting 34.6 percent from 3-point range.

At one point in time, Jerian Grant was the clear frontrunner to back up Kris Dunn at the point guard spot. If Payne continues to produce at this level, it may be a two-man race for that spot after all.