The New York Knicks have agreed to sign point guard Elfrid Payton to a two-year, $16 million contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadiumc. The second year of the deal is a team option, per The Athletic's Michael Scotto, matching a bunch of the other deals the Knicks have made to start free agency.
Payton spent the 2018-19 campaign with the New Orleans Pelicans, playing in just 42 games due to injuries. During that time, he averaged 10.6 points, 7.6 assists, 5.2 assists and a steal over 29.8 minutes per game while shooting 43.4 percent from the floor, 31.4 percent from 3-point range and 74.3 percent from the free-throw line.
The 25-year-old, who played his collegiate basketball at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, was originally selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 10th overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft but was immediately traded to the Orlando Magic.
He went on to appear in all 82 contests during his rookie campaign, registering 8.9 points, 6.5 assists, 4.3 boards and 1.7 steals across 30.4 minutes a night while making 42.5 percent of his field goal attempts, 26.2 percent of his long-distance tries and 55.1 percent of his foul shots.
Payton went on to spend the first three and a half years of his career with the Magic before being traded to the Phoenix Suns midway through the 2017-18 campaign, but his time with the Suns was short-lived, as he then proceeded to sign with the Pelicans last summer.
Due to his inability to shoot from the perimeter or score efficiently, Payton has fallen behind in the modern NBA and is still trying to find a role.
He owns career averages of 11.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals through 29.5 minutes per game while connecting on 45.4 percent of his shots, 30.2 percent of his triples and 63 percent of his free throws.
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