Thunder second year guard Cameron Payne will play an important role for the team this coming season – but his first step is getting healthy.
Payne underwent surgery to treat a Jones Fracture this summer and is now on the road to recovery. The Thunder do not have the best history with Jones Fractures: they had to waste almost an entire season because of Kevin Durant‘s same injury in the 2014-15 season. This time around things are looking up as Payne is making good progress.
When asked by Erik Horne of The Oklahoman about his injury Payne gave a good update for the team.
“I'm getting back into things,” Payne said. “I'm shooting, jumping around, running. Everything's been going great.”
Payne went on to say that he hopes to be ready for the first day of training camp but will not rush himself to get back. The Thunder start training camp on September 24 and begin preseason play on October 3 in Spain against Real Madrid. Payne's health is key for the Thunder as they begin their first season without Kevin Durant on the team.
On the bright side, Cameron Payne has shown abilities despite this injury. When Payne played in Summer League this offseason, he played through the fracture and still put up good numbers, including this game winning three-pointer.
Cameron Payne (16 pts) knocked down the game-winning jumper for the @okcthunder. #SummerLeague https://t.co/t3bKSogLYd
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 2, 2016
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