Cameron Payne is in line for a bump in minutes and responsibilities as a backup two guard this season. He showed promise last season then had an impressive Summer League in Orlando where he averaged 18.8 points per game.
Then in July Payne had surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot. While the official timetable for return on those is 6-8 weeks, it is an area of the foot (the bone that runs from the base of the little toe up near the ankle) that doesn’t get great blood flow and can be slow to heal.
Which is why this report from Erik Horne of The Oklahoman is good news.
Cameron Payne said he's been out of the boot about two weeks. Shooting, layups and running.
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) September 13, 2016
That’s much better than the other news Thunder fans got Tuesday.
Hopefully, Payne will be good to go by the start o the season. However, the Thunder can and should be cautious here, they don’t want to rush things and have this lead to further damage that keeps Payne out longer. The Thunder have been down that road before with this surgery (although the Durant situation had differences).